Norwich City’s creaking defence potentially suffered another huge blow last night when Max Aarons hobbled off in the England v Kosovo U21 game.
Aarons, in a young lions side captained by his club teammate Ben Godfrey and which also saw Todd Cantwell come on as a second half substitute, had been excellent as England eventually came out 2-0 winners thanks to two goals from Phil Foden.
Max had to come off in the last ten minutes of the game after appearing to twist his knee in a last ditch clearance. He was later seen wearing the dreaded protective boot, suggesting it wasn’t actually his knee.
After the game though, the Star man played down the seriousness of the injury when he spoke to the media as reported here by the Pink ‘Un.
“It is just precautionary. I have the crutches out as well but let’s see in the morning,” he said, after picking up the man of the match award.
“Hopefully nothing too serious.”
“I thought initially when I made the tackle it was my left knee and there was a lot of pain but by the time I got back to the changing room and then had a shower it felt a lot better.
“The physios have had a look and it is the left ankle area so that is why I have got the boot on.
“I was delighted with my performance. To do this at international level was something I really wanted to do. The main thing was the result and to get the win. Now to be here with six points after two qualifiers that is all you can ask for.
“This has come around really quickly for me. Two tough games for England on top of playing in the Premier League for Norwich. It is a step up but you have to work towards this and that is why I am enjoying it.”
The U21 coach, Andy Boothroyd was full of praise for Aarons too.
“He was outstanding,” Boothroyd said.
“It is a shame that he got himself an injury because he was brilliant going forward, bags of energy, taking two people on at a time and producing some fantastic crosses.
“Hopefully it is not too bad and we can get him back playing for Norwich soon.”
That will be the key question for City fans. How long will he be out for?
With the ominous spectre of Manchester City on the horizon, Daniel Farke could do without this and with just four days rest available to him, the likelihood of Max facing up against Raheem Sterling looks unlikely.
Fingers crossed.
If he doesn’t make it, then it will be a chance for Sam Byram to show what he’s about. Nothing like a trial by fire, eh?!
OTBC