Norwich City’s Championship play-off bid must drive fitness decisions on Grant Hanley and Josh Sargent, with David Wagner indicating both will swerve upcoming international duty.

Hanley was not part of the matchday squad for the 3-0 league win at Stoke City, and Wagner revealed afterwards he will now undergo a personal training plan to get back the ‘explosiveness’ in his game after a long lay-off following Achilles surgery last year.

Hanley was named in Scotland squads for friendlies over these next two weeks against the Netherlands and Northern Ireland, as his country step up preparations for this summer’s European Championships.

Sargent’s prolific goalscoring form, after his near four month absence following ankle surgery, had also earned him a recall to the USA squad for a Nations League semi-final against Jamaica in Texas.

The 24-year-old notched his 10th league goal of the calendar year at Stoke, but Wagner indicated after the game he took another blow on the same right ankle.

Sargent's withdrawal from his national squad was officially confirmed on Sunday afternoon, with Coventry City's FA Cup match-winner, Haji Wright, taking his place in the US party.

“Obviously Josh still has an ice pack on his ankle. He got another kick or a twist and it's quite sore,” said Wagner, speaking on Saturday night. “We have to, for sure, assess him. We assess his ankle more or less every weekend and then we have to try to put a plan together for how we can get him ready to play the following weekend.

"Since he has been back with us, he did not have one week of full team training.

"This is a big issue, a big problem. He is a super fit guy in general, his whole body shape is top, and this is why he can tolerate it. But we have to come to a solution where we can continue to invest until the end of the season. But first and foremost we must assess him from this game.”

Hanley has made six league starts since his return over the festive period, but after talks with Wagner and the club’s sports science experts will now embark on a tailored fitness schedule.

“With him we had a longer conversation because obviously he is fit, we've seen this, he played more than, I don't know how many 90 minutes games,” said Wagner. “But we all together agreed - him, myself and the fitness and medical department - to pull him out of team training because he is not as explosive and as sharp as he was when he was on his best.

“He is a very physical centre half. If he is physically on his best then he is one of the best, or the best, in the division. We have to make sure, and he feels the same, to get him back to that level.

"So we now pull him out of team training and we give him a proper individual programme in the next couple of weeks, or how long it will take, to get back to that level.

“Obviously, we all together know it was a very serious injury and it takes time, even if we are happy that his Achilles is fine. But we have to get him back to the explosive, sharp Grant Hanley he was before his injury.

"(What about Scotland call up?) No, I think this is impossible, because we all know what is best for him and hopefully we can get him back. We have now to make sure we put the fitness programme together, because we have to support him to get him back to this sharpness, this explosiveness which he had before.”