The rest of an international break may do Norwich City some good – but Jonny Howson would prefer the games to continue flowing.

Howson made his first league start of the season in the Carrow Road draw with Rotherham on Saturday, following his recovery from a pre-season knee injury.

The Canaries are top of the Championship but will also have to stew on one point from their last two games, both at Carrow Road.

Although Howson is not necessarily feeling the frustration of everyone else.

'I think sometimes, no matter how the form is going or the performances, no matter what you do it's always nice to get a little breather and refresh away from things,' said Howson. 'We'll do that now and look forward to the game at Fulham.

'For me the games can't come quickly enough and the break probably comes at a bad time. But I'm just pleased I'm back involved. We've got a couple of weeks off now and I suppose for me, I'm just happy to be back out there whether it's on the training pitch or at Carrow Road.

'The breaks are part of it now and it's a chance to regroup – and we're top of the league going into that.'

The size of the squad at Neil Adams' disposal – especially in terms of midfielders – is not lost on anyone. So even come training during an international break, with a disappointing recent points return at Carrow Road, they will be men keen to impress their desire for match action.

'It's not just the international breaks either, but in between games too – we have got to be right at it and putting in performances, and keep working hard,' added the 26-year-old.

'As we have mentioned before, throughout the whole squad there is great competitiveness for places. So if you do switch off, there are people there waiting to take your place and get in the side.'