Liam Manning has confirmed that Ante Crnac will miss the remainder of the 2025/26 season after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament.
The young Croatian was a second-half substitute against Derby County on Tuesday night where the injury took place.
"It's not good news, he's ruptured his ACL and will be out for the rest of the season. He'll need surgery. It's hugely disappointing for him and for us," Manning said.
"You could see walking off the pitch, he was devastated. He's had some people around him picking him up the last few days. I keep coming back to the word disappointed."
In much more positive news for Norwich, Mathias Kvistgaarden is very near a return from his knee injury.
The striker has been involved in team training regularly and is available for this weekend while Amankwah Forson is now just a week away.
"He trained today and looked well, he's in contention to travel at the weekend. We need to win a game but have to look after him," Manning added.
"Forson is back in the group, he's looked good with some of the conditioning stuff he was doing today."
Against the Rams, Norwich dominated the first half but failed to find the breakthrough they needed before conceding early in the second.
And Manning and his staff believe the performances are an indicator of what the team are capable of amid a tough run of results.
"If you look at experiences, the league, trends, if you want to produce a team with the change we've had, it comes down to how you perform. If you want to win game after game, we've got to learn how to do that," he explained.
"What we've shown is we can dominate large periods of games but you then have to go and kill the opposition. Look at the chaotic nature of the league, you can go on runs. I'm confident that when we do get the win, we'll go on a run.
"In the first half the other night, you saw a group that's starting to understand it. We went behind them quite well, we went through them, we attacked down the outsides. Once it clicks, that variation, you become quite difficult to stop. We need to manage pressure better. Once that steam gets let off and the confidence comes, you'll see the team continue to grow."
Next up is a trip to face Swansea with the south Wales club sitting 16th in the table.
They also suffered defeat in midweek with QPR claiming the three points at the swansea.com Stadium.
"It's a tough game, a tough place to go. They've invested a decent amount in players in the summer too. We have to perform like we did in the first half the other night but make the chances count.
"We can't keep letting opportunities pass us by. The lads should be desperate to get back out there and turn that performance into a win. I'm quite clear, we have to win games. It's not nice being in the position we're in. When I see what I've seen in recent weeks, I believe in this group."