Former Lincoln City striker Jovon Makama, the Imps’ first £1m sale, is set to miss the start of the Championship season after suffering another injury setback with Norwich City.
Makama sustained a knock to his foot during a behind-closed-doors friendly against Colchester United and was subsequently pictured wearing a protective boot. According to a Norwich injury update, the 22-year-old is expected to be sidelined for around four weeks.
It is particularly frustrating timing for our former academy graduate, who had only recently returned after five months out of action with a broken foot. That injury was sustained during Norwich’s 2-0 victory against Blackburn Rovers in February, bringing an early end to what had been an encouraging first campaign at Carrow Road.
Makama joined Norwich last summer in a club-record sale for the Imps. The deal was officially undisclosed, although the initial payment was understood to be around £1.5 million, making him the first player Lincoln City had sold for a seven-figure fee.
He had previously progressed from our academy into the first team, making 97 senior appearances and scoring 15 goals. Eleven of those came during the 2024/25 campaign, when his performances during the closing months of the season attracted attention from the Championship.
His development continued following the move to Norfolk. Makama finished his first Norwich season with 13 goals in all competitions, including ten in the Championship, despite missing the final months of the campaign. He also scored an FA Cup hat-trick against Walsall in January and had been beginning to establish himself as an important part of the Canaries’ attack.
There is at least some reassurance in this latest injury. Norwich head coach Philippe Clement has stressed that Makama’s problem was caused by contact rather than being a muscular or soft-tissue issue connected to the club’s training programme. However, he now looks likely to miss the opening matches of the new Championship campaign.
Given the length of his previous absence, Norwich will presumably be cautious about bringing him back too quickly. It would be expected he’ll be back long before his return to Sincil Bank on December 12th.
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