CHRIS LAKEY Dickson Etuhu is looking to end a frustrating spell at Carrow Road with an appearance against his former Preston team-mates on Saturday - but he could find himself in for a rocky ride from the Deepdale fans.

CHRIS LAKEY

Dickson Etuhu is looking to end a frustrating spell at Carrow Road with an appearance against his former Preston team-mates on Saturday - but he could find himself in for a rocky ride from the Deepdale fans.

Etuhu was responsible for breaking the leg of former team-mate Adam Nowland when the teams met at Carrow Road on January 2 and instantly became a hate figure for the 400 travelling fans.

It all happened just 10 minutes into the second half when Nowland went for a 50-50 ball near the touchline with an equally determined Etuhu, who, at that time, was on loan to Norwich and still a Preston colleague.

There was a sickening crack as Nowland went to ground after a tough challenge - and was left with a double break of the right leg.

Preston assistant manager Alan Kelly was furious and was lectured by from a policeman after making his feelings known while the game itself threatened to boil over until referee Nigel Miller eventually restored order.

The post-game comments from his team-mates weren't exactly positive, but it seems time has proved a healer and Etuhu is now looking forward to a chance of playing against his former team-mates again.

“I'm looking forward to seeing the lads and hopefully playing in that stadium again,” he said. “It will be a tough game, but we will be going for the three points. I have a lot of friends there and I'm looking forward to seeing them.”

Etuhu's problem is that he is far from being a regular in manager Nigel Worthington's first-team squad, let alone his starting line-up.

Having started 100 league games for Preston, where he scored 17 times, he moved to Carrow Road on a two-month loan which became a permanent £450,000 transfer in January.

However, what follows hasn't been quite what Etuhu - and Norwich City - expected, with the 23-year-old having started just four Championship games. His last start was the derby defeat by Ipswich on February 5.

It's a record which has left him feeling frustrated.

“I'm working hard in training every day,” he said. “I'm now waiting for my chance. And when it comes I want to take it. It's been a bit frustrating, but that's football.

“But there are a lot of good players at this club and I will continue to work hard to try and get back in.”