Norwich City: Thorup reveals reason for Callum Doyle form.
Johannes Hoff Thorup has revealed that hidden injury struggles have been behind Norwich City defender Callum Doyle’s recent dip in form.
The Manchester City loan export has been on the receiving end of criticism for his performances in recent weeks, as he’s failed to reach the high bar set at the start of his spell with the Canaries.
Head coach Thorup says that’s down to the fact he’s been playing through a minor injury, however, and he hopes that two weeks without Championship action will benefit Doyle.
“It’s been a matter of playing many minutes and maybe too many minutes, to be fair. Obviously we didn’t have the possibility to rest him like we wanted to. Callum had some issues and played through it because he had to.
“It was good for him not to go [on international duty]. It’s the same with you (journalists). Whenever you have a week off and you come and ask me questions, the questions are always better.
“But if you have to continuously ask them and make them up day after day after day without any rest, the level of the questions also drops a little bit. That’s how it is, it’s natural in this world.
“For Callum as well, we could see towards the end he was struggling. He was tired and also mentally tired, which is fair play. That’s also why I said after the Bristol game credit to all the players.
“It’s been a tough moment for them, a tough period of the season, that’s how it is. We’ll deal with it and we’ll make sure we come back stronger now.”
While the benefits of players like Angus Gunn, Onel Hernandez and Ashley Barnes returning from injury are clear to see at first glance, Thorup also hopes their recoveries allow the likes of Doyle to get back to their best.
“I think these 10-12 days have been good for everyone,” he continued. “We now have more options and we can rotate a little bit more. We can make sure that we play with fresh legs and also minds, because that’s also something that can be tired after playing match after match after match.
“But the experience that these guys have got from all of these matches hopefully it’s going to be very useful for us.”
