Fitness concerns could be prominent as Norwich City prepare for a must-win game at Brighton on Saturday.
Centre-back Ozan Kabak added to the potential injury issues as he limped off just nine minutes into Turkey action on Tuesday, having started the last two City matches.
Ben Gibson had been dropped after the costly 3-1 home defeat to Brentford earlier this month, after sloppily conceding two penalties, and it was Kabak alongside Christoph Zimmermann and skipper Grant Hanley in a back three at the start of the 3-1 loss to Chelsea at Carrow Road five days later.
Zimmermann was taken off at the break in a tactical switch, having recently returned from six months out with an ankle injury, but had also been struggling with an eye infection.
Hanley then had to miss the 2-1 defeat at Leeds prior to the three-week break in fixtures, after a positive Covid-19 test, bringing Gibson back into the starting XI and wearing the captain’s armband – but being beaten in the air ahead of a painful late winner being conceded in injury-time at Elland Road.
Zimmermann wasn’t on the bench at Leeds, bringing untested youngster Jonathan Tomkinson into the squad but with defensive midfielder Jacob Sorensen also providing cover.
Hanley has returned to play two full games for Scotland during the break though, claiming a headed assist from a corner in a 2-2 draw with Austria on Tuesday. Yet there are further questions in defence.
Max Aarons pulled out of the England Under-21 squad due to the hamstring strain that saw him replaced late on at Leeds, with Brandon Williams also soldiering through that game with an ankle issue.
The extent of their issues is yet to be revealed and Sam Byram missed the last two games having managed nine appearances since returning from over 18 months out with hamstring trouble.
Head coach Dean Smith attributed Byram's absence to concerns about muscle fatigue and the full-back trio were all missing from a lengthy video posted by the Canaries online of a Colney training session four days after the loss in Yorkshire – although that is not conclusive, with a fortnight passing since that was published.
In midfield, Kenny McLean was a substitute for Scotland in a friendly last week but was not in the squad on Tuesday and Lukas Rupp had been struggling to regain full fitness prior to the break as well, after hamstring issues.
Ireland internationals Andrew Omobamidele (back) and Adam Idah (knee) also remain out long term and it’s not clear if either will be able to return before the end of the season.
However, with 10 players away on international duty, it’s understood that Smith had just 10 senior players to work with for much of the last two weeks.
An update on team news is set to arrive at City’s pre-match press conference on Friday morning, with an eight-point gap to safety already making survival unlikely with nine games remaining, after six successive Premier League losses.
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