Hughton hopes for duo boost

Midfielder Anthony Pilkington and defender Sebastien Bassong are racing against time to be fit for Norwich's visit of Liverpool.

The duo have been struggling to shake off respective back and hamstring problems this week in an effort to face Brendan Rodgers' struggling Reds at Carrow Road this weekend. And, should they get through training on Friday, Canaries' boss Chris Hughton claims they have an 'outside chance' of featuring in the Carrow Road encounter. The game will come too soon for Simon Lappin who returned to training on Thursday following an ankle injury, while fellow Scottish defender Steven Whittaker will make his long-awaited return to training next week after recovering from his ankle trouble. Loan striker Harry Kane was ruled out for up to six weeks after suffering a suspected broken right foot in the club's 1-0 midweek Capital One Cup win over Doncaster. However Hughton, who is also without James Vaughan because of a loan deal with Huddersfield, is happy with his current attacking players. He said: "We have options, whether it is to play two strikers or one up front and one off that player and I thought Wes (Hoolahan), for somebody that hadn't been involved in the games, played very well at Newcastle and everybody is aware of what a good quality player he is."