Johannes Hoff Thorup admits injury-ravaged Norwich City are in a tough spot, but it would be ‘stupid’ to risk bringing Marcelino Nunez back for this week’s Championship double header.

City will again be without Anis Ben Slimane (hamstring), Josh Sargent (groin) and the suspended Kenny McLean for the midweek trip to Sheffield Wednesday, and Bristol City’s Carrow Road weekend visit.

Angus Gunn (side strain) and Nunez (hamstring) are in the final stages of rehab but the Chilean midfielder is too important to risk for Thorup.

Jacob Sorensen made his first start since May in the 2-1 defeat at Cardiff in a midfield which featured teenager Gabe Forsyth and Emi Marcondes.

“Too short term a decision, and there's a risk that we do something stupid, and that injury becomes an even bigger one, and it takes even more weeks,” said Thorup. "We have to be patient and wait the time that we have to wait. I know for everyone it is frustrating that we don't have options. At the moment it is a tough, tough time.

“We are not doing changes. There's no one coming back from injuries before the next two games. We have what we have, and we have to make sure that our first duty is to make them as fresh as we can.

"I would have loved us to have a week without any games. Because when I look at the tired legs in there I know that these guys have to be ready again Tuesday night.

“That's also why I think it's extra tough to take. Because just imagine that we would have won with this team and some of the guys playing for the first time, and why I think that would have been fantastic.

"Stepping into the new week now there is a little bit of disappointment, but we have to bring many of the good things we showed at Cardiff on Tuesday .”

Sargent is set for further scans on Monday to assess the extent of his groin injury and whether he needs surgery. Slimane is struggling with the same hamstring injury that blighted his early weeks at Norwich.

“We tried him in training the other day, but he felt something straight away, so he's not there yet where he can be a part of the team,” said Thorup. “We have to tread carefully again, because although we have these upcoming games they're not more important than risking we suffer too big an injury with him. We have to at least make sure he is ready after the international break.

“It is the same hamstring issue as before and that is the reason why most of the games I have only played him 60 to 70 minutes, to see if we could just kill that extra risk by letting him go 80 or 90 minutes. It has not been enough. We need to really be careful here, so we don't lose too many players.”

Gunn and Nunez are expected to be back in the mix immediately after the upcoming international break. Ashley Barnes, Liam Gibbs and Onel Hernandez are longer term injury absentees, but all three are now back in light training.

City’s players looked visibly shattered on the full-time whistle at Cardiff after enduring stoppage time heartbreak.

“Football is all not always dictated by performance. You can score out of nothing. That was the case on two occasions towards the end,” said Thorup. “We can only look at the performance. We can only look at what we need to do to be even more solid towards the end, because we will have the same guys available for Tuesday night. 

“We can also expect a Tuesday night game where there will be moments we have to defend, where there will be moments we have to dig deep and survive out there.

"We also need to highlight some of these moments in the second half that were not good enough, because I think it was too easy for them to enter into our half and put crosses and passes in that are 50/50 situations, duels and throw ins. We should be a little bit better, hopefully on Tuesday night.”