PAUL Lambert will assess the fitness of Wes Hoolahan and Gary Doherty ahead of tomorrow's match with MK Dons at Carrow Road (3pm).
The pair were both injured in last Friday's match at Tranmere Rovers, which led to them missing Monday's 2-1 win over Stockport County.
"We'll see how they are today," said Lambert at this morning's pre-match press conference. "With Wes it's only a strain (thigh) so we'll see how he feels."
In the absence of Doherty and Jens Berthel Askou through injury, former Millwall and Liverpool centre-back Zak Whitbread came into defence against Stockport: "Zak came in after not playing for 10 months, which is unbelievable and the way he played I thought was terrific after 10 months out. Jens still has the problem with his foot at the minute, so we had to throw Zak into the fray and he did great. Doherty has been terrific for me and a dead leg can be a sore thing so we'll have to see how he is."
Luke Daley (thigh) and Askou (foot) remain the only other absentees through injury from the squad.
Fraser Forster will miss Saturday's game through serving the second match of his two-game suspension, after the on-loan Newcastle 'keeper was sent off at Prenton Park last Friday.
City's previous encounter with the Dons back in September proved a controversial one, ending in a 2-1 defeat for the Canaries at stadiummk. After City took an early lead after just 17 seconds through Chris Martin, the Milton Keynes side turned the game around in the second half and won thanks to a contentious penalty decision in the 76th minute.
Goalscorer Martin was adjudged by the assistant referee to have felled Lewis Gobern in the box with television replays suggesting the young striker had got a foot to the ball before making contact with his Dons opponent.
Lambert commented: "The linesman gave the penalty. If you look back at the video the referee waves play on, the linesman over-ruled him and we lost the game."
The City boss agreed that tomorrow's match does give the Canaries the chance to rectify what happened that night but with Paul Ince's team still in with an outside chance of making the Play-Offs he expects a tough match at Carrow Road.
"I think every game is dangerous, anybody you play it's a dangerous game - but we are playing well enough to win."
News this week confirmed former Canary physio Neal Reynolds is returning to Carrow Road having left to go to Arsenal two years ago, Lambert commented: "It's great. I think Steve (Lilley) has done brilliantly since Simon (Spencer) has been away and he'll give them a big hand. We need help as we don't really have many backroom staff here due to the ones that left. So he'll come in and do great. He knows the Club, he knows what it's about and he brings great experience from where he has been."
The Canaries find themselves nine points clear of the chasing pack going into the weekend with six games left to secure that automatic promotion spot: "It's in our hands and that's the position we want to be in. Nobody else can influence it only us," said the Scot.
Asked how this promotion run-in differs for him personally as a manager compared to the highs he experienced as a player, he replied: "I think when you're a player you can do something about it. That's the difference with being a player you can actually influence the game. As a manager as soon as the lads cross that white line it's in the lap of the gods and their feet that it goes for you.
"I know they'll give me everything they've got, they've been absolutely brilliant and the team spirit has been terrific - that's why they're in the position they're in because they've been terrific all season. They've got a great desire, all of those sort of things, but once the lads cross that white line there is nothing more I can do.
"They have to go and perform and more often than not they've done it. So if we do get success they deserve everything that's coming their way."
Tickets are still available for Saturday's match with MK Dons at Carrow Road (3pm) by logging on to online ticketing, calling 0844 826 1902, or visiting the Carrow Road ticket office or the Canary Store in the Mall, Norwich.
