Prior to his team’s match against Preston North End, Norwich City manager Johannes Hoff Thorup gave an explanation for his decision to bench captain Kenny McLean.
Preston defeated Norwich 1-0 at Carrow Road thanks to a goal from Milutin Osmajic in the fifth minute.
After the final whistle, the Norwich manager gave the local media an explanation for McLean’s absence.
Due to illness, McLean was removed from the Norwich squad.
When Norwich made their team announcement on social media, the 33-year-old was initially included in the starting lineup.
But soon after, the club’s PR team declared that McLean would be replaced by Jacob Wright, who was on loan from Manchester City.
“Kenny had to go out, which is never ideal for us because he is so important, for the way we play and the group’s experience,”
Thorup remarked in an interview with BBC Radio Norfolk following the game.
“He has been sick, but he was fine yesterday, but he felt like he was having trouble breathing during the warm-up.”
Norwich hopes McLean gets well soon.
This season, the midfielder has been a vital member of the Canaries, starting 23 games as captain and dishing out three assists.
With an average of 2.3 tackles per game, he has contributed a lot of bite to the midfield and is undoubtedly a leader in the locker room.
The Canaries, who are still aiming for a play-off spot, will want him to return to full fitness as soon as possible because he is such an important player.
But it won’t be the first time Norwich has had to play without McLean this season.
The Scotland international has previously been suspended for four games, once for violent content and once for a straight red card against Middlesbrough.
McLean could be crucial to Norwich’s success for the remainder of this season, so everyone will be watching to see if he recovers quickly enough to start.
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