Norwich City face Anis Ben Slimane injury concern after Tunisia cancel Mali friendly

Norwich City could face a fresh fitness concern over Anis Ben Slimane after Tunisia cancelled Saturday’s friendly against Mali, with reports claiming the midfielder was among the players expected to miss the fixture through injury.

Ben Slimane started Tunisia’s 2-2 Africa Cup of Nations draw with Botswana on Monday but was substituted after 64 minutes, having also featured as a second-half substitute in the 1-1 draw against Uganda earlier in the international break.

The 25-year-old’s involvement in both matches has now been followed by reports of an unspecified injury, with Tunisian radio station Mosaïque FM reporting that he was set to sit out the proposed meeting with Mali.

The cancellation means Ben Slimane will not have the opportunity to feature in the additional friendly, giving Norwich another reason to monitor his condition closely before their return to Championship action.

Ben Slimane had featured regularly for Norwich

Ben Slimane has been a regular part of Philippe Clement’s squad during the opening weeks of the season, appearing in nine of Norwich’s first league and cup matches.

The attacking midfielder has registered one goal and one assist during that run and had travelled for international duty as part of a 12-player Norwich contingent.

However, a combination of fitness issues has limited the involvement of several of those players, with Ben Slimane, Ruairi McConville and Darlin Yongwa the only senior members of the group to have featured.

Norwich are scheduled to return to action on October 10 against Championship leaders Swansea, leaving Clement with a short period to establish whether Ben Slimane will be available for the trip.

The potential setback comes at an inconvenient time for Norwich, who are already managing several injury problems within their squad.

Clement already dealing with injury concerns

Clement confirmed earlier in the international break that Mo Toure could be sidelined for months with a shoulder injury, while Kenny McLean and Ben Chrisene were expected to be out for weeks with ankle and shoulder problems respectively.

The Norwich manager had also acknowledged the need for close communication with national teams over the management of his players after the latest international call-ups.

“We have a lot of communication around it. But we will see after the international window how it works practically,” he said.

Clement also stressed that clubs cannot completely control how their players are used once they report for international duty.

“You don’t have any control of it.”

The Belgian, who spent 12 years involved with Belgium’s national team as a player, also recognised the benefits of international football for his squad.

“I’ve been there 12 years myself to be in the national team and I was really proud about it.”

Tunisia deny problems behind Mali cancellation

Tunisia’s decision to cancel the Mali fixture has generated questions beyond the injury situation, particularly following their difficult World Cup campaign and the appointment of new head coach Mouine Chaabani.

Tunisian Football Federation president Moez Nasri denied suggestions that tensions within the camp were responsible for the cancellation.

Reuters also reported that, alongside injuries, a source close to the national team had cited concerns that a negative result against Mali could affect Tunisia’s FIFA ranking.

Nasri insisted, however, that injuries and player availability were the genuine reasons for calling off the game.

“We felt that it was in the team’s best interests not to play this match, notably because of injuries and some players’ commitments, such as (suspended) Ismaël Gharbi. These are the real reasons for the cancellation,” he said.

With Ben Slimane’s reported injury yet to be specified publicly, Norwich will now be hoping the midfielder’s withdrawal is precautionary and that he can return to full fitness before the Canaries resume their Championship campaign.