Borja Sainz: Norwich forward ‘fit and energised’ for spitting ban return

Thorup urged Sainz to look to United States international Josh Sargent as an example of how to conduct himself on the pitch, as they look to resume their fruitful partnership.

“Josh is a very good team-mate for Borja because he’s so calm. It takes a lot for Josh to be frustrated in the game. It also means he has the energy to support some of the others and he’s an important player for us, and for Borja,” he added.

Norwich are eighth in the Championship ahead of the game with Preston, two points outside the play-off places.

They will, though, be without Emiliano Marcondes, with the forward out for up to two weeks because of injury.

“It’s been ongoing for him that he’s been suffering a little bit from some hip pain. He could go through it and play but we knew that when we were in a position with some more players available, we would probably take him out for one week or two,” said Thorup.

“Although it’s been obvious he’s not been 100% ready for the games and towards the end of games he’s been struggling a little bit, you can see his quality in the final third, you can see his quality for running in the box and also his vision for making the final pass, but it’s something we knew was coming.”