Klose May Miss Rest Of Season

Norwich City’s shock Carabao Cup loss to Crawley Town on Tuesday night has been compounded by the news that Timm Klose’s season could be over.

Midfielder Beryly Lubala scored his fifth goal of the season for the Reds to win the tie – a deflected effort that wrong-footed goalkeeper Ralf Fahrmann – but the news on Klose is perhaps worse than the result.

The Switzerland international defender has been a rock at the back for the Canaries over the past three years and was instrumental in helping them gain promotion last season. However, he suffered a nasty knee injury at Broadfield Stadium and it does not look good.

“The first report I have got from my medical department is horrible,” said manager Daniel Farke.

“The first diagnosis with Timm is ACL. That would mean he is out until the end of the season or best-case, March or April. We hope and we pray it is not this news.”

Klose had just returned from a hip injury and the trip to West Sussex was his first competitive outing of the campaign.

That lasted just 27 minutes though, and the management will now be sweating on the results of a scan.

Christoph Zimmermann was another casualty of the contest but Farke was quick to point out that his problem was more of an impact injury and should not be an issue in the long run.

“With Christoph it was planned to bring him on the pitch for 45 minutes but with the injury to Timm he had to play a little bit longer and got a hit on his back and his hip area,” added the coach. “The first news is it is more or less alright. We definitely need him.”

The East Anglian outfit have endured a tough start to life back in the top flight, with defeats to Liverpool and Chelsea in their first three games.

A 3-1 win over Newcastle is all they have to show for the efforts but the manner of a 3-2 loss at home to the Blues will have been a confidence boost that they will be able to compete with the majority of teams and stave off the threat of relegation.

Farke will need all his most experienced stars to perform right until May and confessed that an EFL Cup exit is not really that much of a problem when it comes to his playing staff.

“My biggest concern is not the result but my injured players,” he added.