A life-long Norwich City supporter whose husband died two weeks ago said he would be “really happy for me” after she was one of 1,000 lucky fans to get a ticket for Saturday’s game against Preston.

Valerie Rogers, from Norwich, was one of the 1,000 Canaries fans selected from thousands more season ticket holders to attend City’s Championship match this weekend. It is the first time fans have been permitted to attend a game at Carrow Road in more than six months.

it was a very welcome piece of good news for the 67-year-old, who has endured a “difficult” fortnight following the death of her husband.

John Rogers suffered from pulmonary fibrosis, a disease which occurs when the lungs become damaged and scarred, and was in hospital for 10 days before he died on September 2.

Ms Rogers said: “My husband wasn’t really into football, it was me who went to the matches. He used to sit and wait to see what my face looked like when I came home.

“I’m sure he’s out there looking at me, really happy for me.”

She added that the news of her ballot success had “really lifted me” and expressed her delight at being able to “do something normal”.

“It makes this even more exciting for me because I’ve had a tough few weeks. It feels like I’ve won the lottery.

“I hope we win but even if not I don’t mind – it will be lovely just to be there.”