Norwich City manager Alex Neil has confirmed that Lewis Grabban will not face former club Bournemouth in Saturday's Premier League match.

Bournemouth tried to re-sign Grabban in the recent transfer window but Norwich resisted the Cherries' offers, and Grabban then went AWOL after being left out of the starting lineup for a Capital One Cup tie with Rotherham United.

Neil said at his pre-match press conference today that the striker had apologised for his actions but that he wasn't in contention for tomorrow's match.

"Lewis Grabban knows he broke the rules and he's apologised," Neil told reporters. "Now he builds his fitness up. He's not in contention for Saturday."

After last summer's move to Norwich, Grabban has started fewer than half of Norwich's matches and is currently behind Cameron Jerome in the strikers' pecking order.

Written by
Pascal Lemesre