Clement reveals triple fitness boost for City

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0 Comments This article is brought to you by our exclusive subscriber partnership with our sister title USA Today, and has been written by our American colleagues. It does not necessarily reflect the view of The Herald. There is light at the end of the tunnel for Norwich City on the injury front, with Kellen Fisher, Jovan Makama and Papa Amadou Diallo edging closer to a return to full fitness.

Head coach Philippe Clement delivered a positive injury bulletin on Friday, confirming that Fisher and Makama are ahead of schedule following issues in pre-season. City's right back is poised to feature in an internal training game on Sunday, while Diallo is also nearing a return.

Ante Crnac returned in midweek for the final friendly against Cambridge and is also in line for more minutes on Sunday, with all set to sit out of Saturday afternoon's Carabao Cup opener against MK Dons.

Midfielder Pelle Mattsson is available for tomorrow’s clash with MK Dons after missing last weekend’s final Carrow Road friendly against Osasuna. New signing Darlin Yongwa isn't expected to feature as he builds up his fitness after completing a free transfer earlier this week.

"Pelle trained all week, so he will be in the selection again. Papa has trained for a few days, but it's too early to put him into a game, so like I said, he's going to play on Sunday," he said.

"For Fish, it is the same. He's been training the last few days, so it's also really positive, and he's in front of the schedule, so he's been working really hard to come back as fast as possible, like all the others.

"Jovan has been on the pitch for the last few days, also individually, so that's also going the right way. So, in general, more positive stories again."

The encouraging updates come after confirmation that Ali Ahmed faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering an ACL injury last weekend.

Ali Ahmed's ACL injury was confirmed by Norwich City on Thursday. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

Clement admitted the loss of the Canadian international had been devastating, but says attention has already turned to supporting the midfielder through his rehabilitation and ensuring he returns stronger.

“Ali is a really special person, with a really strong mentality. So, he had already had tough moments in his life before,” Clement said.

“He was devastated after the game, and the day after, like we all were. And I have to say, for myself as a manager, I've never been on the pitch side, feeling like the blood ran out of my body in the moment that it happened. I never had that moment.

“Ali is reacting really powerfully again, with wanting to come back stronger than he was before. That's his aim. That's our aim also. And we have a few examples of that. Coming back after injuries, was stronger than before. I think Ben Chrisene is an example of that.”

City's opening competitive game being in the cup rather than the Championship is a change for the 2026/27 campaign.

MK Dons boss Paul Warne feels it is a welcome change to the calendar and should enable head coaches to name stronger teams with a clean week between that and the start of league action next weekend.

For Clement, there is no question about rotating players or going weak. Given his track record of winning cup competitions throughout his career, the aim is to progress to the next round.

Philippe Clement will take the Carabao Cup opener against MK Dons at Carrow Road seriously. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

"I do that every time. It doesn't matter to me if it's a League Cup game, an FA Cup game, or a league game. So they're all competitive, and we want to go as far as possible in all of them. So it doesn't matter to me what kind of game starts there.

"Of course, in the pre-season you need to build minutes with everybody and you have mixed teams. But from now on, the competitive games start. But the best team for now will not be the best team for next week. So it depends from game to game for the tactics, for what players need for this moment.

"For some, it's still pre-season," Clement admitted. "Some players did six weeks. Others did two weeks. Others did three weeks, like internationals coming back. Some players came out of injury. So you need to build also minutes for them.

"It's always about taking all these things into account and not just saying, okay, these are my best XI players in those positions, and you put them in. I wish we could make those decisions more. I hope in the season we can make them more, but we're not at that point yet."

Clement’s determination to take the competition seriously will be tested by an MK Dons side expected to treat the tie as a major occasion, especially amid Warne's emotional return to Norfolk.

MK Dons boss Paul Warne is a lifelong Canaries fan hoping to inflict an upset on his boyhood club in the Carabao Cup. (Image: PA Images)

"I know the manager is a real Norwich fan," Clement said. "For him, it's the game of the year. We know they had the experience in the past, I think it was 15 years ago, to win against a Norwich team that was playing in the Premier League at that moment.

"So, they will come with a lot of confidence and we will play our game with respect for them, but going full for our own ambitions and it's going to be an exciting game to watch for everybody."