Not for the first time this season, Jamie Cureton provided a welcome drop of sunshine in amidst the gathering injury gloom by declaring himself fit for Saturday's home clash with Cardiff City.
The 32-year-old striker missed the trip to Spotland having picked up a slight knock in the 2-1 defeat at the KC Stadium, Hull, last weekend.
And as Canary chief Peter Grant embarks on 48-hours of counting heads and waiting for the transfer phone to ring, so Cureton's verdict on his own fitness will come as a big boost.
Find another half a dozen other nods and the manager might even have a team to call on as Dion Dublin, Jason Shackell, Darren Huckerby, Julien Brellier, David Strihavka and Ian Murray all struggle to shrug off the various effects of that Carling Cup trip to Greater Manchester.
?I'm fine,? was Cureton's simple verdict at Colney this morning.
?I trained on Tuesday and Wednesday – it was just a slight knock that I had and I think the gaffer just thought it was best to leave it and just rest it up.?
That decision looks to be paying dividends as Cureton prepares to meet the Bluebirds; the decision, however, to throw Ian Murray into the cup fray despite his bout of illness was one that backfired, as Grant candidly conceded.
?By the sounds of it, I missed a good one!? said Cureton, spared two hours of sapping cup action and the heart-stopping drama of that last-gasp, penalty shoot-out.
?The boys told me about it and it obviously wasn't great from what I've heard, but we got through – so that's the main thing.?
Had he been on duty and Norwich's penalty taking order might have changed – Darel Russell was No5 in the queue only for David Marshall's heroics to save him a job. Whether Cureton would have been first up, or last, the Championship's reigning 'Golden Boot' holder would have played his part.
?I nominated myself to take the penalties a while ago, so if I'm on the pitch I'll be grabbing the ball,? said the swiftly-established Canary favourite – a process helped by those four goals in his opening week back home in Norfolk.
?So, yes, I would have took one – if I'd have lasted through extra-time. But the boys have obviously worked hard, they've ground out a result again so we've got to take some sort of positives out of it.?
The negatives – performance aside – come in the lengthy list of sick and injured. As it currently stands, Grant probably has seven certain starters for Cardiff – Cureton, Chris Brown, David Marshall, Darel Russell, Simon Lappin, Gary Doherty and Jon Otsemobor.
The rest are in the hands of Mother Nature with the likes of Chris Martin, Lee Croft and Luke Chadwick left to see what holes need filling.
?It's obviously frustrating for the manager,? said Cureton. ?That's why he's brought a lot of players in over the summer to cope with situations like this.
?So I'm sure there are people now who have been itching to play who are going to get their chance because obviously there's a lot of knocks in there.?
So would he like to see the last 36 hours of this summer's transfer window deliver more reinforcements? ?As long as they're not forwards…
?But, yes, you obviously want quality to come in and as big a squad as possible that can help us achieve things. So I'm sure the manager's in there working hard to bring people in.
?So I'm sure we can expect people in before deadline – or loans after that,? added Cureton, with this week's money going on it being more of the latter than the former.
Someone is already going to have their work cut out to make it to Norfolk in time to feature on Saturday.
Interestingly, Cureton is unmoved by the prospect of Robbie Fowler arriving in the city. The long-standing Anfield hero may, of course, be joined by another of the Premiership's former finest – Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, provided the ex-Chelsea ace shrugs off his own ankle worries.
For Cureton the emphasis is on the words 'former' and 'ex-'. Great players, certainly. But not at the very peak of their Premiership powers.
?Be nice to be on the same pitch as them – they're a couple of very good strikers,? said Cureton, after both made their Bluebirds' debuts in the 1-0 midweek win over Leyton Orient in the Carling Cup.
?They're obviously working their way into fitness and they're going to score a lot of goals at this level. So it'll be nice to be on the same pitch – and out-gun them, hopefully.
?They have got massive reputations, but they're obviously at this level now for a reason. If they were as good as they were a while ago, then they wouldn't be down here so we can't be too star-struck over them.
?We have to respect them; we know they're very good players. And they're not so much past their best, but not at the level that they were at.?
By contrast, many might argue that Cureton is currently at his best – his fitness and sharpness levels peaking like a great wine, his frivolous days of youth long behind him. His striking talent has never been in doubt.
Nor is the fact that Norwich and Norfolk have long held a special place in his affections.
?It's very strange – it's like I haven't left the place,? said Cureton, back where he belongs after 11 years on the road. He might even get a chance to play alongside Huckerby this weekend – a first for both and a key component to Norwich's success or otherwise this season.
?He's another player that adds to us and, hopefully, he's another one that creates chances for me,? said Cureton, feet firmly lodged back under the table.
?I've fitted in straight away and it is very normal. It's been a bit of a weird transition coming back. Just strange – strange all round, I'd say.?
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