Norwich City head coach Philippe Clement has confessed he is unaware of the nature of striker Josh Sargent’s injury, which forced him off in the 1-1 draw against Sheffield United on Tuesday night.
After scoring 15 goals in 33 games last season, Sargent started this season in fine style, scoring six goals in his first five appearances in all competitions.
Sargent was the subject of significant transfer interest in the summer, with Premier League duo Leeds United and Burnley both interested, while Bundesliga side Wolfsburg held talks with Norwich over a potential £20 million deal for the 25-year-old, but he turned down the move to Germany in order to stay at Carrow Road.
That appeared to be a great boost to the Canaries’ promotion aspirations, but Sargent went on a 14-game goal drought between the end of August and the beginning of December, and his team was forced into a relegation struggle as a result of failing to win 13 of those games.
Sargent has begun to rediscover his form since Clement replaced Liam Manning last month, and his long goal drought came to an end when he scored the opening goal in Saturday’s 3-2 defeat at Watford, but he was replaced by Amankwah Forson in the 44th minute of Tuesday night’s draw at Bramall Lane.
After the Blades took the lead through Danny Ings early in the second half, Norwich responded well and equalised when Djibril Soumare put the ball in his own net in the 65th minute, and after Forson missed a golden chance to win it for the visitors late on when one-on-one with Michael Cooper, Clement’s men are still a number of points from safety.
Philippe Clement delivers Josh Sargent injury report following Norwich City blow.
As Norwich awaits word on the seriousness of Sargent’s injury, Clement confirmed that the United States international, along with captain Kenny McLean, would be assessed ahead of Saturday’s encounter against in-form Southampton at Carrow Road.
“Sarge took a knock; we need to check his condition. Clement informed the BBC that Kenny’s hip was locked in the first half, as seen by the manner he ran; it was not his usual style.”
“We took him off at halftime to protect him from injuring himself further, and we’ll see if he’ll be ready for Saturday in the coming days.
“Of course, I hope so; otherwise, other players will have the opportunity to compete for the team’s points.
“That’s a positive and negative but I am now three weeks here and I think everybody played already from the squad.”
The Canaries were also without Mathias Kvistgaarden against Sheffield United due to a recurrence of the knee injury that kept him out for six games earlier in the season, and Clement hinted that the £6.9 million summer signing from Brondby could be out for another spell, which is especially bad news given that Sargent is also doubtful for the weekend.
“He had rehab, he started training and playing again, he felt good, but this week he felt his knee again in the same place so we need to make an assessment with the knee specialist so we know what’s the best action to take,” says Clement.
The injury to Josh Sargent could not come at a worse time for Philippe Clement and Norwich City.
Clement disclosed that Sargent was substituted after picking up what he characterized as a knock, implying that the problem may not be serious, but given the striker’s injury history, Norwich fans could be forgiven for dreading the worst.
Sargent has suffered long-term injuries in each of the last two seasons, and the Canaries will be desperate for him to avoid another extended absence, especially when fellow strikers Kvistgaarden and Ante Crnac are also out.
The timing of Sargent’s injury will be especially frustrating for Norwich, as it appeared that he was regaining confidence after scoring for the first time in over three months against Watford, and with his side still firmly in the relegation zone, Clement cannot afford to be without his star player for too long.
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