Andrew Omobamidele facing injury layoff

19-year-old Omobamidele had started last week’s Premier League game at Tottenham Hotspur but didn’t appear in the matchday squad for Saturday’s visit of Manchester United

Norwich City's Andrew Omobamidele in action during the Premier League match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London. Picture: Adam Davy/PA

A back injury has halted Andrew Omobamidele’s progress just as the Ireland defender was impressing new Norwich City boss Dean Smith.

The 19-year-old had started last week’s Premier League game at Tottenham Hotspur but didn’t appear in the matchday squad for Saturday’s visit of Manchester United.

Smith confirmed later that centre-back’s omission was due to injury and he’ll miss the hectic festive schedule for the Canaries.

"Andrew is out still; he's got a stress response in his lower back, so he'll be out for a couple of weeks," said the City manager who was recruited recently to try to steer the Premier League’s bottom side away from the drop zone.

Omobamidele’s compatriot Adam Idah – who also started at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last week – was an unused substitute.

With game-time scarce, and Smith likely to bolster his strikeforce in January for the final push to avoid relegation, the Cork native may be loaned out.

Mooted interest from Championship outfit Nottingham Forest appears to have waned as they look to more established forwards for reinforcement options but Idah will be in demand should Smith decide a temporary switch is best for his development. “Adam hasn’t had a lot of game-time but the boy is game,” noted the new Canaries boss last week.

Meanwhile, Alan Browne has been tipped by his new Preston North End boss Ryan Lowe to finally prosper after a disappointing start to the season.

Corkman Browne bagged his first goal of the campaign in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Barnsley and Lowe wants his skipper to lead by example.

“Alan is captain of the football club and he’s a real gem to work with,” he said.

“He listened, he learned, we got him to show him a few things because he’s like a Duracell bunny. He’s got so much energy, he’s running all over the place, so we’ve got to really tame that energy on a lot of them – to make sure they’re running and squeezing at the right time.”