Teemu Pukki has conceded that Norwich City's top-flight relegation was one of the most painful moments of his career to date.

Finland's record goalscorer is preparing for international duty after another tough top-flight campaign that ultimately culminated in relegation with the Canaries.

Pukki has had a brief break but will feature in four Nations League fixtures during June, starting with a game against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday.

The striker was named as Norwich's Player of the Season earlier this month and was their standout performer in a dismal season at Premier League level.

That has prompted speculation over his own future, with City activating a one-year extension in their favour. Whilst that doesn't guarantee Pukki will be playing Championship football after the summer, he confirmed he is set to link up with the club for pre-season in July.

“I’m going there for the preseason. That is the current situation,” Pukki said briefly at a press conference.

Despite his goal return individually, Pukki is a team player who measures success on what the team are doing rather than himself.

After another relegation, he can't help but be reflective on a campaign that failed to live up to expectations.

“It was a tough season for the team. This has certainly been one of the most difficult periods of my career, with so many games and losses," he said to Helsingin Sanomat. "A difficult season both mentally and physically.

“It’s not easy for any player. When it comes to winning, football is fun and enjoyable, but when it doesn’t, it’s tough. It has big differences in feelings. However, one side of the game is winning. It's the feeling of getting three points and being able to celebrate victory."

Pukki ended the season as Norwich's top goalscorer, with the highest share of goal contributions of any individual player in Europe's top five leagues.

His importance to City's cause cannot be underestimated. The 32-year-old regards his 11 goals in the last campaign as a bigger achievement than in 2019/20, when a toe injury derailed his progress.

“Before the season, the goal was to get at least the same 11 goals," Pukki said.

"On a personal level, I’m happier this season because last time 11 goals were already full in January, but the rest of the season went awry. As such, you can be happy, but you can't be happy as a team player when we dropped out of the league.”