Norwich City head coach David Wagner has confirmed that George Long will start in goal tomorrow against Birmingham City should Angus Gunn fail to complete a late fitness test.
Long signed for the Canaries back in August on a free transfer following Tim Krul’s departure to newly promoted Premier League outfit Luton Town, having spent the last two seasons with Millwall.
With Krul gone, Long’s only competition at Norwich was Gunn and the duo were set to compete for the starting place between the sticks. However, Gunn has been Wagner’s preferred option in goal in the Championship.
Long is yet to make a single league appearance for the Canaries as Gunn has held down his spot in the first eleven. However, that may be set to change tomorrow.
Gunn missed Wednesday’s Carabao Cup defeat away at Fulham due to a shoulder injury, meaning Long was forced to start in goal despite battling an illness himself.
Long has now recovered from the bug, according to manager Wagner, but the German insists that there is still a chance Gunn could feature after receiving an injection in his shoulder.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Birmingham City, the former Huddersfield Town boss said [quotes by The72, via Pink’Un]:
“We will have to see.
“Yesterday we didn’t do a lot after the game, we only recovered. We will have training this afternoon [Friday] and we will see.
“I have heard that George is fine after his illness. With Gunny, we will have to see how he is able to manage the situation after his injection that he had to have,” he continued.
“We knew then that he would miss some days of training and then he has to have a good reintegration into team training. It was not a lot of other days, only four or five, but we have to see how he reacts. Then we will make a late call on it.”
Writer’s View
If Gunn is OK to start in net, then Wagner’s decision is easy to make. However, Long is a Championship-quality goalkeeper too so it’s not the end of the world if Gunn isn’t fit just yet.
That being said, Long’s opportunities may be limited this season so if he starts tomorrow, he needs to make sure he stakes his claim to be Norwich City’s number one.
