Norwich City column: Time for club’s summer arrivals to take their chance amid injury crisis

After such a promising start to the season, it is has been a momentum-puncturing week for Norwich City.

On the pitch, back-to-back defeats at Cardiff and Sheffield Wednesday have seen Johannes Hoff Thorup's side fall away from the top six.

But that only tells such a small part of the story.

Simply put, we are being crippled by an injury crisis.

Angus Gunn, Marcelino Nunez, Josh Sargent, Anis Slimane, Onel Hernandez, Ashley Barnes, Gabe Forsyth and Liam Gibbs all currently find themselves in the treatment room, with Kenny McLean also absent through suspension.

It's hard to recall a time with so many players unavailable, and we have certainly suffered as a result; particularly in the case of Sargent, Nunez, McLean and Gunn.

But we can't sit here feeling sorry for ourselves. Injuries are part of football and we have to try and find ways to get results, starting with the visit of Bristol City.

Perhaps a small mercy is the two-week break that follows the game against the Robins, when we can regroup.

When you consider the bigger picture, the current predicament certainly highlights the need to add more depth come January.

Since day one we have been light in forward areas.

With Sargent and Barnes out for prolonged periods, it heaps the pressure on Ante Crnac, who has taken time to adapt since his summer arrival from Poland.

The Croatian youth international has shown glimpses of potential, but the onus is now firmly upon him to ease the burden on Borja Sainz, who has been simply sensational in front of goal.

City also need the likes of Kaide Gordon and Oscar Schwartau, both of whom have received more minutes than they might have expected since their summer arrivals, to step up.

We certainly find ourselves in a difficult position, but it's a challenge we can't shy away from.