Norwich City head coach Philippe Clement confirmed that Pelle Mattsson's injury is worse than feared and the Dane will be out for a while.
The Belgian spoke to the local media ahead of tomorrow's trip to take on Middlesbrough, confirming that Mattsson will miss an extended period of time but will not require surgery.
"Pelle Mattsson is going to be out for a while. It's worse than we expected, but he will be out for a while. I never want to feel like it's a big blow, I like to look for solutions," Clement said.
"The worse thing is to be negative. It's a pity for Pelle, it's a pity for everybody because he was doing really well. It gives opportunities for other players to show, to express themselves, where I believe in. And we need to look at it that way.
"I had so many moments in my career that suddenly an important player was away. The year we become champions with Genk, the club had to sell (Alejandro) Pozuelo just before the play-offs because he had a clause in his contract.
"Everybody said Genk is dead now because he was the captain and the best player. And we kicked on in the play-offs and somebody else came in the team, not the same profile or the same type, but he did a good job for the team and we kept on winning.
"I like to remember those things because it's important not to be negative because it doesn't help anything. We need to control the controllable so that all the players are in the building to get the best out of them and they get the best results.
"Jacob (Wright) had a really good second half against Coventry. It's a different profile than Pelle, but we played also a good second half against Coventry. So, I'm very convinced about the qualities of Jacob, now and for the future. He's still young, still can learn a lot, he can progress a lot. I will not say that he's starting tomorrow for sure but he's doing really good things."
Clement also confirmed there were no further injury concerns following Monday night's win over Coventry City, as well as speaking about a few players currently out injured.
"No, not any injuries after the game, there were a few knocks during the training days that we need to assess for tomorrow, but nothing after the game," Clement added.
"He (Amankwah Forson) lost a few extra days and it was too early to get him in training. I expect him next week in the group training, but it was a little bit too early. And like I said, it's always an individual progress to be made and it's difficult to judge that weeks from before or even days from before, how our body reacts for the last exercise. We want to be good, we want to be smart with the players, so for some will be normally in the training sessions next week.
"They're (Ante Crnac and Mirko Topić) part of it because they are in most of my meetings. When it's possible they do their rehab with the physios, but they're in the dressing room with the players. I talk with them.
"For me, they have the same importance as the players who are starting. It's about all grouped together, everybody who's part of the club here. So they feel part of it. For example, in the home games, they are in the dressing room before the game, they are in the dressing room after the game. So they really feel part of the squad and the team. And that's an important thing for me."
The head coach also spoke about Saturday's opponents Middlesbrough and the threats they will pose at the Riverside Stadium.
"In the period that I'm here, they're the team that took the most points. That's the reality. So, you see also how they are chasing Coventry now, to be top of the league. So it's a very good team, also all the games that I saw, a very good attacking team, a very good defensive team.
"So I don't think there's a bigger challenge at this moment in time in the Championship than to go to Middlesbrough but we all relish this challenge now and I'm happy about that. I feel it also in the group that everybody is looking forward to more challenges and then to see what we can produce there, and that there's confidence in the team, a lot of hunger and desire. That's what I want to see. And then the results will come in the games to come in the weeks and months to come."