Norwich City: David Wagner confirms Ashley Barnes injury situation ahead of Leeds United play-off | OneFootball

Norwich City boss Daniel Wagner has revealed that Ashley Barnes will miss Sunday’s play-off semi-final first leg against Leeds United, although he is hopeful the striker can feature at Elland Road.

Ashley Barnes injury latest

The 34-year-old joined the Canaries in the summer after helping Burnley to the Premier League last season, and whilst he has only managed six goals and five assists, he has proven to be a shrewd addition.

Barnes has been an ideal focal point for Norwich, and his experience has been a key factor in helping the side reach the play-offs.

However, the target man suffered an injury against Swansea towards the end of April, with reports claiming at the time that it would put his participation in the play-offs in doubt.

And, that’s proven to be the case, as Wagner confirmed to the club’s media that he is hopeful that Barnes will be available for the second leg on Thursday.

But, it wasn’t all bad news for the Yellows, as the boss also stated that Christian Fassnacht is ready to play, as well as giving an update on others in the squad.

“Like expected, Fasi full in training, (Jonny) Rowe full in training, (Ashley) Barnesy will miss the first leg. Onel (Hernández) and (Liam) Gibbsy are ruled out for a while.

“(Shane Duffy) trained as normal. The club made a statement, it's a legal process now and we'll assess it internally. He has been in full training.”

Ashley Barnes will be missed on Sunday

As mentioned, Barnes doesn’t have the most eye-catching record this season, but that doesn’t tell the whole story of what he brings to the team.

Against Leeds, his physicality could have been key, as he would relieve pressure by winning fouls, and you can be sure that the likes of Josh Sargent and Jonathan Rowe appreciate having Barnes in the team.

Nevertheless, there’s still a lot of quality in the ranks, and the likes of Rowe and Sargent will back themselves to make a difference at Carrow Road this weekend.

You get the feeling that Norwich need to be taking a lead to Elland Road if they are to have a chance of reaching the final, and bringing an experienced figure like Barnes back in for that tough trip would be a real boost for Wagner.

Of course, Leeds have injuries as well, and they will go into the clash without their own striker in Patrick Bamford, so it’s not like it can be an excuse for Norwich.

Norwich City will have belief that they can beat Leeds United

Having finished higher than Norwich in the table, and beaten them twice in the league, Leeds will undoubtedly start as favourites to progress from the tie.

However, Wagner has defied the odds in the past by taking Huddersfield Town to the Premier League through the play-offs, and they are up against a Leeds side that have struggled in the past month or so.

There’s a lot of pressure on Daniel Farke’s side given they were pushing for automatic promotion, so Norwich will hope that they can take advantage of that and book their place at Wembley later this month.