Norwich are facing a defensive crisis following the ankle injury picked up by Christoph Zimmermann on Saturday. The German centre back was making his Premier League debut during the Canaries 2-0 defeat at West Ham, having previously been ruled out of their opening three games of the new season with a knee injury he suffered in training.
However, the 26-year-old’s top-flight bow was brought to a premature end when he sustained an ankle injury in the 36th-minute of the contest, with boss Daniel Farke confirming the Canaries face an anxious wait to discover the full extent of the damage. “He’s on crutches at the moment and is on the way to the hospital. We have to wait for the scans,” Farke revealed. “There was a tackle against his ankle, the ball was three yards away, he rolled his ankle.”
The potential absence of Zimmermann will be a blow for Norwich, as they already have a number of injury concerns at the back, as Grant Hanley is currently sidelined with a groin injury, while Timm Klose’s season is over following the serious knee injury he picked up during the midweek Carabao Cup defeat at Crawley.
That leaves Ben Godfrey as the only fit and available central defender in the Norwich squad, although summer recruit Ibrahim Amadou, who replaced Zimmermann at the London Stadium, can fill in at the heart of the defence as a makeshift centre-half.
Farke is certainly concerned by the lack of defensive cover at his disposal, but, with Norwich’s next match not coming until they welcome Manchester City to Carrow Road in the Premier League after the international break, the German is hopeful that Zimmermann may have time to make a swift recovery. “It’s totally swollen, I hope it’s not too bad because we deserve at the moment a bit of luck because of several injuries, but I can’t say too much at the moment because we have to wait for the outcome of the scans,” Farke added.
Farke also felt the injury to Zimmermann, which came when Norwich were already trailing 1-0 on Saturday, played a decisive role in the result of the contest at the London Stadium. “In general today this result is tough to take,” the 42-year-old explained. “When my player, my leader, my captain has to go off after such a situation it influences the game.”
