Lupoli heads back to full fitness

Lupoli made an instant impact at Cardiff

Norwich's on-loan striker Arturo Lupoli believes he is still not fully fit, despite firing in two goals at Cardiff on Saturday to earn his team a point.

The Italian is on a season-long loan from Fiorentina and came off the bench to score in the 2-2 draw.

Lupoli told BBC Radio Norfolk that after a curtailed pre-season, he feels he is close to full fitness.

"The first few games were difficult for me, I think I'm almost 100%, hopefully the next game I will get better."

He added: "I didn't have a lot of pre-season with Fiorentina, just one week, so I came here and was a bit short of fitness and I played just one game before the season against Colchester."

Lupoli's two goals in Cardiff, and Jamie Cureton's missed penalty, could lead to the Italian replacing Cureton in the starting line-up for their next game against Birmingham.

And Lupoli is looking forward to facing his Arsenal former team-mates Quincy Owusu-Abeyie and Sebastian Larsson who are now at Birmingham.

"They both played with me for Arsenal reserves and we played a few Carling Cup games as well, they're both great players.

"I hope they don't have their best game on Saturday but of course I will be happy to play another time against them, it will be a special day for me and for them."