Borja Sainz is available for Norwich City’s meeting with Rotherham United tomorrow after his red card against Middlesbrough was rescinded.
Sainz was sent off in the first half of the Canaries’ 3-1 loss at the Riverside Stadium on Wednesday, with City 1-0 up and seemingly on the way to a victory that would have taken them into the. Championship top six.
Head coach David Wagner revealed after the game that they would be appealing the decision, however, in the hope of avoiding a four-match ban for the Spaniard.
That appeal has been successful at a vital time for Norwich, with Wagner previously set to choose from just one available winger in his entire squad until early April, with Jonathan Rowe and Onel Hernandez both in the treatment room.
The incident that saw Sainz see red for the second time this season happened on the half-hour mark and involved former City player Jonny Howson. The Boro man slid into Sainz, who appeared to then catch Howson on the thigh with his boot.
In a post-match interview Howson appeared to suggest he was right to react as he did, although the contact looked minimal.
"I possibly might have caught him, but there is nothing in it,” he said. “I've got the ball, and there is a leg there that kicks out at me. You cannot do that in today's game because you can barely touch anyone in today's game.”
The FA’s decision means the City boss is likely to field Sainz on the left and Christian Fassnacht on the right against the Millers – although he will be fully aware that midfielder Kenny McLean is on nine bookings and the cut-off for a two-game suspension is this weekend's game.
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