Brooke Norton-Cuffy, the promising 19-year-old on loan from Arsenal, is on the verge of making a quick recovery from a knee injury.
His potential return could see him back in action for Millwall in their upcoming Championship game against Middlesbrough this weekend.
Brooke Norton-Cuffy, the 19-year-old Arsenal loanee, is hopeful of making a swift return from his knee injury and could feature in Millwall‘s upcoming Championship match against Middlesbrough.
Despite missing the recent FA Cup tie against Leicester, Norton-Cuffy’s recovery has been progressing well, raising the possibility of his inclusion in the Millwall squad this Saturday.
Millwall’s head coach, Joe Edwards, spoke optimistically about Norton-Cuffy’s recovery.
“Brooke is actually progressing quite well,” Edwards told the South London Press. “I spoke to Brooke and the physio… Brooke had an aim in his head which the physio didn’t rule out of joining training at the end of the week.”
While starting the game seems unlikely, there’s a chance Norton-Cuffy might make the bench, given his recovery has exceeded initial expectations. “Maybe an outside chance of being on the bench, maybe, because he has progressed quite nicely than we first thought,” Edwards added.
The right-wing-back has been an integral part of Millwall’s setup this season, starting 21 of their 26 Championship matches and making a total of 23 appearances.
Norton-Cuffy’s contributions have been significant, directly involved in four goals from his position (2 goals, 2 assists).
His involvement with Millwall has surpassed his playing time with any other team, including Arsenal’s U18 and U23 squads, marking this loan spell as a crucial phase in his development.
The recent injury was a setback for Norton-Cuffy, who was notably absent from Millwall’s big FA Cup clash against Leicester City.
Edwards had previously confirmed that Norton-Cuffy, along with teammates Murray Wallace and Shaun Hutchinson, would miss the Leicester game due to injuries. “Shaun, Murray and Brooke will all be out of the Leicester game,” Edwards had said. “I think they will be out for a couple of weeks.”
However, Norton-Cuffy’s swift recovery trajectory is a positive sign for both the player and Millwall. “Out of the three of those, Hutchy’s is likely to be a little longer than Murray and Brooke,” Edwards noted, emphasising that Norton-Cuffy’s injury wasn’t as serious as initially feared.