Norwich City Boss Confirms Key Player Could Miss Birmingham Clash
If Angus Gunn fails a late fitness test, Norwich City head coach David Wagner has announced that George Long would start in goal against Birmingham City tomorrow.
Long joined the Canaries on a free transfer in August, following Tim Krul’s departure to newly promoted Premier League club Luton Town, after spending the previous two seasons with Millwall.
Long’s lone opponent at Norwich after Krul’s departure was Gunn, and the pair were expected to compete for the starting spot between the sticks. Gunn, on the other hand, has been Wagner’s favoured goalkeeper in the Championship.
Long has yet to make a league appearance for the Canaries, as Gunn has kept his place in the starting lineup. However, it could alter tomorrow.
Gunn missed Wednesday’s Carabao Cup defeat away at Fulham due to a shoulder injury, meaning Long was forced to start in goal despite battling an illness himself.
Long has now recovered from the bug, according to manager Wagner, but the German insists that there is still a chance Gunn could feature after receiving an injection in his shoulder.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Birmingham City, the former Huddersfield Town boss said [quotes by The72, via Pink’Un]:
“We will have to see.
“Yesterday we didn’t do a lot after the game, we only recovered. We will have training this afternoon [Friday] and we will see.
“I have heard that George is fine after his illness. With Gunny, we will have to see how he is able to manage the situation after his injection that he had to have,” he continued.
“We knew then that he would miss some days of training and then he has to have a good reintegration into team training. It was not a lot of other days, only four or five, but we have to see how he reacts. Then we will make a late call on it.”
Writer’s View
If Gunn is OK to start in net, then Wagner’s decision is easy to make. However, Long is a Championship-quality goalkeeper too so it’s not the end of the world if Gunn isn’t fit just yet.
That being said, Long’s opportunities may be limited this season so if he starts tomorrow, he needs to make sure he stakes his claim to be Norwich City’s number one.
