Early Norwich City team news ahead of Swansea ft Josh Sargent and Kenny McLean updates | OneFootball

FLW rounds up the early Norwich City team news ahead of Saturday's encounter in South Wales

Norwich City return to Championship action this weekend against Swansea City at the Swansea.Com

After an indifferent start to the season under new Danish boss Johannes Hoff Thorup, the Canaries recorded their first league win of his tenure prior to the September international break against Coventry City at the CBS Arena.

Norwich will be looking to build on their success in the West Midlands as they visit Luke Williams' side on Saturday afternoon, with the chance to build some momentum under their new boss and record successive away victories for the first time since January 2023, which also included a victory away to the aforementioned Sky Blues, who were defeated on August 30th through Borja Sainz's 49th minute strike.

The international window can be a particularly anxious time for managers across the EFL, as whilst there is a great understanding of the pride felt when representing a nation in any fixture, there is an element of risk that follows amid potential injury setbacks, which go on to have a domino effect on their club's fortunes.

However, updates ahead of the clash with the South Wales side have been kind to Norwich supporters on that particular front.

Josh Sargent, Kenny McLean updates

Josh Sargent was one of 12 players from the Norfolk outfit away on international duty at the beginning of the month, as the USMNT featured against Canada and New Zealand.

After being on the bench against Canada in Kansas City, the 24-year-old was omitted from the squad against the Kiwi's in Cincinnati after suffering"ankle irritation", which raised concern among the Norwich camp surrounding his availability for Saturday's away trip.

However, in his pre-match press conference (via The PinkUn), Hoff Thorup stated that Sargent should be involved in the game in some capacity.

"He felt something in his ankle after one of the early training sessions. Again, it was a decision based on how many minutes he could actually play in that second friendly and the decision was it was okay to go back home, take care of that ankle, and not take any risks," the Norwich boss said of the man who netted 16 goals last term.

"If everything goes well and according to our plans then he will be in training on Friday and involved in the game on Saturday."

Furthermore, the vastly-experienced McLean, who featured in both of Scotland's UEFA Nations League defeats to Poland and Portugal, which included an assist for Scott McTominay's opener in the latter of those encounters, was forced off in the 74th minute at the Estadio Da Luz with a muscular problem.

However, Hoff Thorup also stated that the 32-year-old, who has been a regular captain for the Yellows so far this season, will also feature in South Wales.

"Kenny felt something just a little bit before half-time in that game. Maybe he was a little bit tired as well. But he seems okay now. We assessed him (on Thursday morning) and he took part in the training," he continued.

"He had some hip pain, can be just soreness, tiredness. I think he is okay and will play on Saturday. It looks like all the other internationals have come back fine. Onel (Hernandez) is the only one not back in the building."

Ben Chrisene in Norwich City training

Those aforementioned injury scares added to Ben Chrisene's own issue earlier on in the international break, with the former Aston Villa man withdrawing from England's Elite League squad through injury and being replaced by Millwall's Callum Scanlon for outings against Türkiye and Romania.

The 20-year-old left back, who was previously on loan at Blackburn Rovers, has made a solid, if not spectacular, start following the switch from Villa Park - starting in three of City's first four Championship outings, against Blackburn, Sheffield United and Coventry.

However, after a minor knock, Chrisene has spent a large proportion of the break training with Norwich after speaking to representatives at the FA about the setback, but has been given the all-clear by his boss to feature against the Swans.

"Ben pulled out also with some pain but, again, to take no risks. There was a conversation between him and the federation. He had a small injury, but he was part of training last week for us," Hoff Thorup added.

The availability of the above trio for the arduous trip west will be a welcome boost, particularly if Sargent is able to build on his impressive start to the campaign of two goals and one assist so far, as well as his goal against his upcoming opponents at the end of last season.