Confirmed: Norwich City dealt big Josh Sargent blow | OneFootball

The American forward is having to deal with another serious fitness issue.

Josh Sargent is set to be out for eight weeks with a groin injury, Norwich City manager Johannes Hoff Thorup has confirmed.

The Canaries were without many of their regular starters on Saturday. Sargent, Anis Ben Slimane, Angus Gunn, Marcelino Nunez; they were all missing against Cardiff City.

They so nearly were able to get a good result from their trip to the Welsh capital, but two late goals undid all the good work that Norwich had done pre and post another one of Borja Sainz's wonderstrikes, and they took nothing away from the match.

It will have been a blow for many of the younger players involved in this game, like Gabriel Forsyth and Oscar Schwartu (both 18), who were in the starting XI, to have let their lead slip so late on. But, that's in the past now and the focus is on getting right ahead of their matchup with Sheffield Wednesday, at Hillsborough.

The Owls, themselves, are coming off the back of a frustrating loss, but their 6-2 defeat has fueled more shame than anger.

Hoff Thorup confirmed after the loss to Cardiff that none of the unfit players would be back for Wednesday night's action, but their injury woes have been made even worse by some bad news surrounding their star American striker.

Josh Sargent set to miss eight weeks

Sargent faces eight weeks on the sideline as he needs surgery on a groin injury that he picked up prior to Saturday's match.

It was expected that he would be out until after the upcoming international break, but it now appears that a new year's return is more likely for the 24-year-old.

"It’s going to require surgery, so we are talking eight weeks," said the Danish manager on Sargent's injury.

This wasn't the only bit of negative injury news that he had to break. He revealed that Forsyth is also going to miss the Wednesday match. This is due to knee pain that he picked up as a result of his second start of the season.

Norwich are getting towards their limit with the number of unavailable players they have. Such is the extent of the injury crisis that Hoff Thorup has said that Jacob Lungi Sorensen will have to start on Wednesday.

Losing the likes of Sargent has forced City to change their setup, according to the boss. With Ante Crnac replacing the American, it means the over-the-top ball that Norwich so often love to play into Sargent's path is no longer on.

"We have to adapt everything, where we are as a team and what players are available. We need to find the best possible position for each player to bring their quality and personality," Hoff Thorup said on the Croatian striker.

One of the main reasons, if not the main reason, why the Canaries have continued to pick up points while having all of these fitness problems is because of the brilliance of Borja.

He has 11 league goals already this season, nine of which have come in his last eight games.

The City manager spoke in his pre-Wednesday press conference about giving the 23-year-old a new contract. His current deal doesn't expire until the summer of 2026.

The way he is playing at the moment is certainly worthy of fresh, improved terms, but it's even more valuable than that. His goals, alone, have directly contributed nine points to Norwich's tally; AKA, half of their current total.

Without him, they could potentially have been down near the bottom. But they are the ones that are lucky enough to have him.