Norwich dealt triple injury blow as Klose faces long lay-off

Norwich City have suffered a triple injury setback and defender Timm Klose could miss the rest of the Premier League season because of major knee ligament damage.

In a serious blow to last season's Championship winners, scans showed the cruel nature of the injury suffered by the 31-year-old Swiss on EFL Cup duty against Crawley Town.

Klose was returning from a hip problem when he had to be substituted midway through the first half of the cup fixture.

Norwich said scans revealed "significant damage to the posterior cruciate ligament", adding that Klose would continue to see specialists.

The club did not indicate an anticipated recovery period. Experts typically estimate recovery from such an injury - if surgery is required - as taking six to 12 months.

Norwich head coach Daniel Farke told the club's website: "It's a tough time for Timm and our thoughts are with him. The nature of the injury means it isn't a straightforward process, but he's in the care of the best possible people."     

On Instagram, he wrote: "Unfortunately I have to take a break for a few months from doing the thing I love the most. During this time my teammates and the club have my total support Time for me to fix the problem, recover and come back stronger than ever!  Thank you all for your messages over the last couple of days, it means a lot"

The Canaries have also lost two German cornerstones of their team, for at least a short while.

Klose's fellow centre-back Christoph Zimmermann is undergoing tests on a foot ligament injury stemming from a challenge by West Ham's Sebastien Haller in Saturday's Premier League game at London Stadium.

Midfielder Tom Trybull will miss around six weeks because of an ankle ligament blow, also suffered in the game at West Ham, where Norwich suffered a 2-0 defeat.