Norwich City will begin their season without Ali Ahmed.
The team confirmed on Wednesday the Canada winger ruptured his ACL last weekend in a friendly against Osasuna and is set for surgery.
In honour of Ahmed, Canaries teammate Mohamed Touré will wear his No. 21 this season. Ahmed will switch to No. 37 upon his return.
“Since we both arrived at the club in January, we’ve become really close friends,” the Australia striker told the club’s website. “We were all devastated for Ali when we saw him go down in the game, as it immediately looked like a really bad one. We know Ali will have a long road ahead of him. It’s unfortunate that he can’t be with us on the pitch, but in switching to his number for the season ahead, I want him to know that he has all of our full support and love.”
Ahmed was removed from the Aug. 1 match in the 79th minute in obvious pain and was helped to the dressing room.
“It doesn’t look good, he felt something in his knee, that’s never good of course,” Canaries manager Philippe Clement told BBC Radio Norfolk. “Everybody is a little bit devastated and you saw that on the pitch. It has a knock on all of the team. It is not only team-mates, it is really a family together. The players are so united, that’s why it has more of an effect than when you are just teammates.”
A native of Toronto, the 25-year-old Ahmed was set to embark on his second season in the Championship after a January move from the Vancouver Whitecaps. He made 19 appearances for Norwich last season in the league, scoring four goals and adding three assists.
Internationally, Ahmed made his senior debut for Canada in 2023. He’s been capped 28 times and scored one goal. Ahmed made four appearances for Canada at this summer’s World Cup.
Norwich, who finished ninth in the table and eight points behind the final playoff spot last season, are set to see their first competitive action on Saturday at home to MK Dons in a League Cup match. Their Championship campaign opens on Aug. 15 at home to West Brom.
