Norwich City: Jon Rowe back in team training ahead of Owls

The England Under-21 international returned to team training on Monday after a hamstring injury which had sidelined the highly-rated wide player since February.

Rowe will not be risked on Tuesday at Sheffield Wednesday, who he scored one of his 12 Championship goals in 28 appearances against earlier this season, but could be in the mix for the weekend play-off shoot-out at Preston.

Head coach David Wagner admitted at Colney, before City’s squad headed north, the 20-year-old’s pace and directness could be huge assets to call on in the defining part of the campaign.

“We should not expect that he is exactly on the level he was before, right now,” he said. “But there are important games, important weeks in front of us. And it's super important to have players available.

“It's too soon to give you a serious answer (for Preston). I think we have to wait and see how he looks after Friday’s training session, or matchday, minus one. Or whether we say he needs a further week. This was always the plan for him to get back so he could help us at this stage of the season. Credit to him in his rehab. He worked very hard.

"Credit to the medical and fitness department as well. They've done a great job to bring him back to team training – quicker than we thought - but we have to make sure that he stays healthy.

"It is obviously always something different to work with the fitness guys rather than in team training. We will see how his week continues. Because we are away he will train with the under-21s these next couple of days.”

Wagner confirmed he will have the same squad on duty who sunk Ipswich, but must weigh up whether to make changes after a gruelling occasion.

“There is a chance for sure. And for sure if it happens it is not because of performances,” he said. “At this stage of the season everyone understands as a player, ‘Okay, maybe I rest in this game, but I will play in the next one’.

"And if this happens it at least keeps the energy level of the starting line up on the highest possible level, which at this moment of the season is crucial.”

The City chief admitted that derby afterglow was still around the camp.

"Saturday was one of the best occasions I have ever been involved in," he said. "This was just on another planet what I experienced on Saturday, and hopefully, we can continue to have moments like Saturday in the next weeks to come.

"The environment is super enjoyable to be at the minute, but to be fair we built this, especially the players, over recent months and on Saturday this game, the performance, the result against a league leader and your biggest rival and to keep a clean sheet against a team which scored the most goals in the league underlines there were so many positives from a deserved win as well. We showed a lot of passion and aggression and intensity.

"Everything was there and obviously this accelerates even more the positive mood which we already had. But the truth is as well from (Sunday) morning on we looked forward to what we will face on Tuesday.

"In training we put every focus on (Sheffield) Wednesday, which is a big task for us in a quick turnaround. We have said this more often than not we would like to make ourselves independent from the opponent which we face."