£1.4m Norwich City misfit’s situation has just gone from bad to worse as Liam Manning confirms blow

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Norwich City midfielder Anis Ben Slimane was already enduring a tough time at Carrow Road, but it’s just got worse.

Liam Manning is already under pressure at Norwich City, mere months after arriving from Ipswich Town.

The Canaries have won just two of their first seven Championship games and have lost every home league game this season.

Norwich will hope to end those home problems with a win over West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday night, but Anis Ben Slimane won’t be involved.

• READ MORE: Norwich City told to look beyond Liam Manning and blame former Arsenal figure for issues

Anis Ben Slimane’s Norwich City situation goes from bad to worse

It’s easy to forget that Ben Slimane came to England as a Premier League player.

Sheffield United signed Ben Slimane from Brondby in 2023 and hoped to see him become a top-flight star under Paul Heckingbottom.

Ben Slimane failed to impress and was loaned out to Norwich in August 2024 under Danish boss Johannes Hoff Thorup.

The deal was made permanent in January 2025, as Norwich agreed a £1.4million deal, according to the Eastern Daily Press.

Hoff Thorup didn’t last the season, though, leaving Ben Slimane in limbo as Manning arrived.

Ben Slimane hasn’t even been in the matchday squad for a Championship game this season and has played just eight minutes in the EFL Cup.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Ben Slimane now faces a spell on the sidelines after suffering a quad injury.

Manning told The PinkUn that Ben Slimane was actually pushing for first-team action after impressing in training.

However, Ben Slimane will now miss months of action in a frustrating blow for the midfielder.

“He unfortunately picked up an injury, Anis, and he was very much there,” said Manning.

“The window shut. His level in training had really jumped, I think, just having clarity on the situation and less grey around it. I’d seen a real spike in him to the point where I’d pulled him and had a chat and said, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing. You’re really close to being in contention for being in the squad’, and then, unfortunately, he picked up a quad injury and is going to be out for some considerable time.

“He’s going to be out for months, unfortunately,” he added.

Anis Ben Slimane exit routes scuppered by injury

Ben Slimane now faces a significant period out of action, and that means a potential exit away from Norwich has been scuppered.

PinkUn reported earlier in September that Trabzonspor were interested in taking Ben Slimane to Türkiye.

Tunisian side Esperance Sportif de Tunis and Qatari outfit Al Sadd were also linked with Ben Slimane, as noted by PinkUn.

Those sides may still have been interested in signing Ben Slimane in January, but his injury means he looks set to stay at Carrow Road for a while yet.