The 18 players set to miss Norwich City v Birmingham City | OneFootball

FLW looks at the Canaries and Blues players set to miss Saturday's Carrow Road showdown

Norwich City and Birmingham City are two of the Championship's most in-form sides at present, and they lock horns at Carrow Road on Saturday afternoon in what is set to be a pulsating encounter.

The Canaries have been in fine form under Philippe Clement, with the Belgian's record of nine wins from 17 second tier outings giving his side the most outside of chances of reaching the play-offs with 14 games to go.

Meanwhile, Blues, who won 4-1 in the reverse fixture that began Clement's Norwich reign at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, are unbeaten in their last six league matches, and are just two points behind Derby County in sixth as they look to record just a fifth away win of the season.

As such, there are plenty of exciting talents and experienced campaigners available to both Clement and Chris Davies for this Saturday 3PM showdown.

However, there are also several key players missing for both managers at this moment in time, and Football League World have looked at the identity of the 18 players who fall into said category and their respective situations.

Norwich City

Shane Duffy

The first of 13 absentees from a Norwich perspective is experienced defender, Shane Duffy.

The centre-back has only played four times in the Championship this season after starting the season with a calf injury, and he has only played 124 minutes of football under Clement's management, with the last of those outings coming against QPR on November 29th.

Harry Amass

Harry Amass, unfortunately, will not be able to show Canaries fans why he was so highly-rated during a previous loan stint at Sheffield Wednesday in this particular fixture.

After making his City debut against Coventry City on January 26th, the 18-year-old suffered a hamstring blow, and has recently returned to Manchester United's Carrington training base to receive checks on the issue, as both clubs hope he can continue his development in the campaign's final weeks.

Lucien Mahovo

Lucien Mahovo's season hasn't been able to get going as a result of injury issues, with the left-back only appearing six times thus far.

After suffering a quad injury earlier in the season, the 20-year-old suffered a similar issue in January, with Clement revealing that he would be sidelined for a fair portion of time once more as a result.

Mirko Topic

Serbian midfielder, Mirko Topic, is expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the season after sustaining an ACL injury in the 1-1 draw against Oxford United on November 25th.

The 25-year-old was signed during Liam Manning's only transfer window at Carrow Road in the summer for €3.5m from Portuguese top-flight side, Famalicao.

Amankwah Forson

Versatile midfielder, Amankwah Forson, has been out of action since suffering a hamstring blow in December.

However, Clement has revealed that the Ghanaian is being monitored closely to ensure that he is in a position to be able to play his part in a sustained run of fixtures upon a return to full fitness.

“Somebody that I really want to, and not only me, all my staff, we want to build, because he's been in the period here it was too much coming out of injury, then a few weeks playing and then dropping out again, and building up again and dropping out again," he said.

“We need to make it more robust, stronger, and that's the goal now for the weeks to come, and then we will see how fast that goes to make him really robust, but I think we need to take a little bit longer period with him to make him strong so that he can last longer.

Pelle Mattsson

Pelle Mattsson is another man missing from Clement's midfield department after he was substituted at half-time against Coventry with a hamstring issue.

A full return date has not yet been specified, but the initial prognosis from Clement is that the Dane would be sidelined for a "while".

Gabriel Forsyth

Gabriel Forsyth has endured a largely luckless 12-month period, as he underwent surgery in September 2025 after suffering a second serious knee issue.

No update has been provided on when the 19-year-old Scot is set to return, as he is yet to feature for the Canaries this season under Manning or Clement.

Jeffrey Schlupp

Jeffrey Schlupp is another City player who has been sidelined for some time after sustaining a hamstring issue in the 2-2 draw with Sheffield Wednesday on November 5th.

The Ghanaian, as a result, is still yet to feature under Clement's management.

Matej Jurasek

Matej Jurasek's injury was sustained earlier this month, with the winger sidelined for between eight and 10 weeks after suffering a bone issue prior to the 3-0 win over Oxford on February 10th.

The injury is reported to have been linked to his foot, just months after the £5.8m man underwent surgery on a hernia in the summer which also kept him out of action for a prolonged period.

Oscar Schwartau

Oscar Schwartau will also not be involved against Blues, with Clement issuing an update on the three-goal ace, who appears to have injured himself in training.

"He had his biggest sprint until now at the club and he felt his hamstring after," the City boss said in his pre-match press conference, with the prognosis that he will be missing for the upcoming weeks.

Papa Diallo will also be out of action long-term after sustaining a thigh injury in the warm-up of City's recent victory over Blackburn Rovers.

The Senegalese winger could return in the final weeks of the season, though, with Clement recently revealing that the 21-year-old was to consult a specialist over the issue.

"Papa has a muscle injury in his thigh. He will have a consultation with a specialist but it will be longer term also," he said.

Ante Crnac

Another Canaries man who has endured a luckless spell is striker, Ante Crnac, who continues to recover from a serious ACL issue.

The Croatian striker was ruled out for the remainder of the season after sustaining the injury in City's 1-0 defeat to Derby all the way back on October 21st, in what was one of Manning's final games in charge at Carrow Road.

Jovon Makama

The last of Norwich's absentees is top scorer, Jovon Makama.

After scoring 13 goals in all competitions this season, the 22-year-old also suffered an injury to the bone of his foot against Rovers on February 7th, as he limped off in the second-half, with Clement left to fear the worst as a result.

"Jov broke a bone in his foot so he will be out probably until the end of the season, or just in the last games that he will be back," said Clement.

Birmingham City

Ethan Laird

Ethan Laird has been out of action for Blues since September 27th, where he suffered a hamstring issue against Coventry.

This month was initially earmarked as a period where the right-back could return to fitness, which could still be the case, after he returned to training recently.

“Ethan has taken his first steps into training. It’s great to see him back. He’s got a fantastic energy and demeanour about him when he’s with the team," Davies recently revealed.

Jack Robinson

Jack Robinson has missed Blues' last six matches in all competitions with a hamstring issue after suffering said blow in the FA Cup against Cambridge United on January 10th.

After being absent for just over a month, it has been revealed that the experienced defender has returned to training alongside Tomoki Iwata ahead of Saturday's clash, although it remains to be seen if he will play any part in proceedings.

Lee Buchanan

Lee Buchanan hasn't played a competitive minute for Blues since last December, where he suffered a serious ACL injury against Blackpool.

It was suggested that the ex-Werder Bremen man could have left on loan to boost his match fitness and minutes in the remainder of the season, but he has remained at St. Andrew's, with Davies outlining his current plan for the left-back.

“It’s early steps. With Lee, it’s about trying to string it together for a consistent period of time," said Davies.

“He’s got to try and get a good few weeks under his belt and we’ve got to be really cautious with him."

Alex Cochrane

Buchanan's left-back colleague, Alex Cochrane, is set to be on the sidelines until April after sustaining an ankle injury in the opening days of 2026, with new signing, Kai Wagner, taking his place in the side as a result.

Such a situation arose after the 25-year-old picked up occasional knocks in the opening months of the campaign after being a virtual ever-present in League One.

Paik Seung-ho

The last of Blues' absentees is South Korean midfielder, Paik Seung-ho.

The experienced anchorman suffered a blow to his shoulder when forcing a header goalbound against West Bromwich Albion on February 10th, and he was substituted after just 15 minutes.

Speaking of Paik's absence, Davies has revealed that the midfielder consulted a specialist after suffering a similar injury earlier in the season. The result of his discussions mean that it is expected he will return to action in the next three weeks.

“Paik has seen a specialist and his programme now is, I think, maybe another three or so weeks until he can possibly be back available again for selection or training," he said ahead of this weekend's clash.