Daniel Farke insists Onel Hernandez’s knee injury opens the door to one of his Norwich City rivals.

The Cuban wide player is poised for surgery on Monday, after suffering a freak accident climbing the stairs at his home.

Farke revealed on Friday Hernandez could be out for between three to six months, depending on the outcome of medical scans.

The head coach has already ruled out a dip into the free agent market for a potential replacement, and believes the likes of Patrick Roberts or Philip Heise are good enough to step in.

"Whoever is in the club has a chance now to step up. There is no limit, if you are in the under-23s or under-18s, but it is not that easy to reach this level," he said. "We have options in the wide positions. I trust the lads like Patrick Roberts, even Philip Heise can play in a more offensive role. We will go with what we have got.

"We are not tempted to make a panic reaction in this type of situation. I believe in my group."

Hernandez came on in last week's Premier League opener at Liverpool, but was poised for a leading role against Newcastle United on Saturday at Carrow Road.

"He is a player who has this one-against-one capability and with his pace he is always a threat," said Farke. "He is someone who can do the unpredictable and you need players like that in the group. I made it clear before the season started we needed some luck with injuries. You can't complain if you get a hit on the pitch and there is a swollen ankle or whatever or a back problem but this is very unlucky.

"Christoph Zimmermann injured himself away from football in the summer and now the same with Onel. No blame attached to the players but to have them out for several weeks is a blow."

Farke revealed on Friday afternoon Zimmermann had suffered a setback in his own recovery from knee surgery, while Timm Klose again misses out against the Magpies with a hip issue.

"I was hoping they would be available this week. No chance. Some good signs from Timm and maybe next week," said Farke. "Christoph had a little setback in his rehab and he is not back in team training. I still have hope we see him back at any point in the next two weeks. Then he could be an option for West Ham. He is back on the pitch running."