Here are your Cardiff City headlines for Thursday, April 21.
Jones slams 'terrible' Bagan tackle
Nathan Jones is still furious Joel Bagan didn't get sent off for a tackle which injured Luton Town's James Bree.
Bree was taken off in the first half after colliding with the Bluebirds left-back before sending in a cross. The Hatters player has not been ruled out for the season, however, with Jones stating that they are assessing the injury on a daily basis.
And despite it being three days after the event, Jones is still enraged by the 20-year-old's tackle. He said: “It’s a terrible tackle, the boy should have gone, should have been sent off. How the linesman hasn’t seen it is an absolute mystery, an absolute mystery.
READ MORE: Nathan Jones on his love for Cardiff City and chasing promotion with Luton Town
“There’s one in the first half where (Jordan) Hugill is so far offside, and he didn’t get flagged, so it’s mental, the game could have been different, totally, totally different. Bear in mind we’re at our absolute maximum, so Steve Morison can say what he wants, but we’ve taken six points over Easter, had big games and we didn’t have the luxury of treating the Forest game as just a warm up for the main event.
“Bree’s challenge was a poor, poor challenge, I’ve been a full back myself and I know what I’m doing when I’m leaving a bit on a winger or a full back. When he’s doing that, it’s a poor challenge. I’m not saying the boy meant it in any kind of way, but it should have been punished, it wasn’t and if it was punished it could have been a different game.”
Billy Sharp fit for Cardiff clash
Sheffield United will welcome veteran striker Billy Sharp back for this weekend's clash with Cardiff in a huge boost to the Blades.
The striker has missed the last five matches, he has not played since March 19 against Barnsley, but as they look to secure a play-off spot, his return will be a positive for Paul Heckingbottom's men. The manager did add that Oli McBurnie has damaged his ligament and fractured his foot.
"Some good news regarding George [Baldock] and Bill they will be fine. Bad news regarding Oli McBurnie, there is ligament damage and some fractures in his foot We will have to look into that to see if he needs surgery but it's still going to be months rather than weeks. It's a blow for us and a blow for Oli.
"The sensible thing would be to manage [Sharp]. He's not going to churn out 90 minutes straight away. I'm more concerned when players are coming back with muscle injuries. He's an important player for us on and off the pitch and has had a role to play but big thing for me is his goals."
Speaking about the challenge the Bluebirds will pose this weekend, Heckingbottom added: "They have changed the way they play. They are still a direct threat and tough, they have scored the most headed goals by a long long way, so they've still got that in the team.
"But they've picked a lot more players with energy around that and they are trying to play a bit more football and in that respect they are really dangerous because they are playing with a freedom."
Hugill's striker rival extends Norwich stay
Jordan Hugill's forward rival Teemu Pukki has activated a one-year extension to stay at Norwich City.
Hugill has done well during his loan stint with the Bluebirds, but has maintained that he will go back to the Canaries and fight for his spot next season.
That looked far more viable with Pukki's contract running to an end, but the Finland international will stay the the East Anglia club next term, which adds another layer of complexity to Hugill's situation.
When asked last month if he could see himself coming back to Cardiff next term, Hugill said: "We would have to see what would happen. Obviously, I've got a year left at Norwich and I'd like to see what would happen there first. I've got a good pre-season planned with them initially.
"So, it's not down to me, it's down to who wants me. I'm just focusing on playing well, finishing this season, getting as high up in this league as we can and then, ultimately, I'll be going back to Norwich and hitting the ground running with them, because that's my parent club."
Whether Norwich would want him, Pukki, Josh Sargent and Adam Idah in their ranks next season remains to be seen.
