Casper de Norre Injury Concerns After Millwall Defeat
Alex Neil fears the worst for Casper de Norre after the Millwall midfielder limped out of their defeat by Wrexham, admitting the injury is “not good” and calling it the turning point of the night.
De Norre, 29, was forced off just before half-time in Wednesday’s Championship clash at 1-0. By full-time, Millwall had been swept aside 3-0, and their head coach was left counting the cost as much as the goals.
“I thought the big turning point was when we lost Casper,” Neil told BBC Radio London. “Senior players know their bodies and he’s definitely felt a pop of some kind.”
That single moment ripped through Neil’s game plan. De Norre departed, and the bench options were already stretched. Derek Mazou-Sacko, still short of full fitness, was not meant to feature for more than 20 minutes. So Camiel Neghli came on first, with Mazou-Sacko introduced later as the match slipped away.
By then, Millwall were running on fumes.
The two young midfielders, Daniel Kelly and Jenson Metcalfe, began to cramp. Josh Coburn’s heel started to trouble him. What had been a structured side turned into a patched-up one, and Neil had no choice but to rip things up and start again mid-game.
“We ended up having to make wholesale changes,” he said. “The difficulty you’ve got with that is that the understanding throughout the players on the pitch is diluted.
“When you come up against an experienced team like Wrexham, it makes it a difficult task.”
The result underlined that reality. Wrexham, seasoned and streetwise, punished a Millwall side already shorn of numbers and then stripped of its midfield anchor. For Neil, it is not just one bad night, but a snapshot of a deeper problem.
“It’s frustrating because we’re probably down to our last third of the squad in terms of trying to get a team on the pitch and trying to be competitive at the level,” he admitted.
There is at least a sliver of relief on the horizon.
Neil expects to have Tairyk Arconte and Kyrell Lisbie back in contention for Saturday’s game against Bolton, a fixture that already feels important in setting the tone for the next stretch of the season. Romain Esse, re-signed from Crystal Palace, could also be involved if he proves ready in time.
“We’ll see where he is, if he’s available and ready,” Neil said. “I don’t think he’s done loads over the pre-season so we need to be careful.”
Careful or not, Millwall may have little choice. With de Norre facing an anxious wait on the severity of that “pop”, and the squad already stretched to its limits, Neil’s margin for error is shrinking fast just as the Championship grind begins to bite.
