Town boss Mick McCarthy is very optimistic that key men Daryl Murphy and Cole Skuse will be available for Saturday’s trip to Cardiff City, while David McGoldrick is likely to be only a few weeks away from his return, but Teddy Bishop is less advanced with his progress with the Blues manager admitting that he's not sure whether the youngster will play this season.

Skuse has missed the last five games with a toe ligament injury, while Murphy has been sidelined for two with a calf problem.

“Very promising, actually,” McCarthy said when asked on the chances of the pair being fit for Cardiff.

“I’ve just spoken to the two of them, they were both just leaving, they were out working today on the training ground. I’m very optimistic that they’ll be OK for Saturday.

Kevin Bru and Ben Pringle both suffered knocks at Bolton on Tuesday but McCarthy says they’ll be fine.

“They both look like they’ll be OK,” he added. “Kevin Foley got a nasty bang on the ribs on top of a bang on the ribs he had before and he’s suffering a little bit but I would anticipate they’ll all be OK.”

Regarding the longer term injured McCarthy has pencilled in David McGoldrick for some involvement at Wolves after the Easter international break, the striker having been out since mid-December with a hamstring problem.

“I think Didzy will be champing at the bit to be involved on April 2nd,” he said.

“He will train on Sunday, he’ll have a week’s training and then we’ve got [an U21s game against] Nottingham Forest on the Monday and if we could get another game into him before the following week when we’ll be playing Wolves, I think he’d be ready to go, at least to be a part of the squad.

“He’s incredibly talented, we’ve missed him every season when he’s been out and he’s potentially got a European Championship place [with the Republic of Ireland to win].

“He’s got a two-pronged motivation. One, to get back and play for Ipswich, but then to have a summer where he could be away for a month playing football and make up for some of the time he’s lost this season and last season, because as footballers we do want to play football, that’s what we do like doing.”

He says Teddy Bishop, who has missed the entire season up to now most recently due to hamstring problems, hasn’t yet progressed as far as McGoldrick.

Can't wait to be back doing what I love 💙⚽️ pic.twitter.com/OPzyRlI0lL

— Ted bishop (@ted10bishop) March 10, 2016

Asked whether the 19-year-old will play this season, he said: “I don’t know. I hope so but he’s not as advanced as Didzy. We thought he was, we thought he might be training Sunday but not quite.”

He added: "Bish is all right, he’s tried desperately to keep his spirits up and have a smile around the place, but he desperately wants to play.”

McCarthy says he’s heard nothing new from Ryan Fraser, who is back at parent club AFC Bournemouth recovering from his hamstring problem, but he still hopes he’ll be back for the Wolves game.

“I think Eddie Howe said that that’s not guaranteed. I never said it was guaranteed, I was just hoping that that would be the case. If he is, great. If he’s not, we can’t do anything about it.”

McCarthy also confirmed that midfielder Giles Coke is back in training today having suffered a knee injury at QPR.

Photo: Action Images

MaySixth added 14:04 - Mar 10 Nice
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BlueKush added 14:07 - Mar 10 Murphy's got a good record against Cardiff hasn't he? I'd go: Bialkowski Chambers, Smith, Berra, Knudsen Bru, Hyam, Skuse, Pringle Sears, Murphy Or with Pringle up front in a 433.
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jas0999 added 14:09 - Mar 10 So, no sign of Bishop being back this season, whilst it will be two full months since January end before we see McGoldrick. This makes the lack of ambition n January even more disappointing. We would have known that then and should have bought in cover.
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weevil added 14:19 - Mar 10 I feel so sorry for Bishop. Such a talented lad.
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Lathers added 14:25 - Mar 10 Bialkowski Skuse, Chambers, Berra, Foley Sears, Hyam, Bru, Douglas, Pringle Murphy
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jpring89 added 14:25 - Mar 10 Gutted about bishop after last season he would of pushed on again and been a star this year. MCG would definitely be great to have back for the run in. Im convinced these 2 plus fraser fully fit playing the whole season we would be challenging for more than just play offs this year.
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jabberjackson added 14:42 - Mar 10 I agree with you jpring - I also think that the constant scathing attacks on our style of play would have been decimated, had both players been available all season These are our 2 most naturally talented players, after all IMHO
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Harwich_Blue added 14:56 - Mar 10 I have a strong feeling Young Bishop will be going in the summer , would not be surprised if some deal is not already in place - purely speculation though :)
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Daleyitfc added 15:22 - Mar 10 Time to claim the insurance money for Bishop : Needham Market ahead for him only.
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Townly added 15:30 - Mar 10 "I have a strong feeling Young Bishop will be going in the summer , would not be surprised if some deal is not already in place - purely speculation though" Has he really shown enough, and over a sustained period? He seems to have been injured for a longer time than he's been in the squad. Apart from that truth, who is likely to want to pay money for him until he has a pro-longed period of actually playing under his belt? He's good, but not yet PL good.

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ITFCGloryDays added 15:33 - Mar 10 Of Bishop's progress, they've been pulling out strings all season.
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ArnieM added 15:42 - Mar 10 Murphy back then. Hoof it is then! Shame tbh because we really don't need to play like this even with a big man up front.
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blues1 added 15:42 - Mar 10 Sorry townly, down marked as hadnt read Harwich blues post. You are spot on, who's gonna buy a player who's missed a whole season injured until he's played again and proved his fitness. Jas0999. Can't u post on here without moaning about the lack of investment in Jan. How would they have known these 2 wouldnt be back? In fact, clearly they didn't as mm said one of the reasons he was happy with the squad he's got was because they were on their way back. Was that a lie? Maybe, or maybe it's just taken longer than he was expecting it to take.

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mojo added 17:28 - Mar 10 As much as it is great to have Ipswich representation at the Euros, the last thing we need is Didsy getting crooked again and being out for the start of next season.
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TimmyH added 17:33 - Mar 10 Hoof ball will be back if Murphy starts against Cardiff...I would be surprised if both Skuse and Murph start on Saturday. On another note doesn't sound promising on Bishop that we'll see anything of him this season, the way the club were talking after the January transfer window you would have thought he'd be back before April...
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Pip50 added 17:37 - Mar 10 Bet ME is thinking that's a bitch not going to shift Teddy or McG for any serious money this close season!
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christiand added 17:37 - Mar 10 I really hope Bishop's injury isn't career threatening. For a young lad being out for the entire season certainly doesn't look good. Just hope the club are being over cautious to protect him.
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essexboy added 17:51 - Mar 10 It will be an interesting selection for Saturday.They will need a couple of fighters in midfield because Most of the Cardiff goals come from there.Good to have the two lads fit as it will give us a stronger bench whoever is on it.Just hope MM goes for a win and not just sit back and defend.I feel Blackburn Tuesday will be a much harder game than Saturday.Four points from these two would be very nice.I cannot get to the match Saturday due to work commitments,so do your best lads.👍

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masetheace added 17:59 - Mar 10 Hope I'm wrong , but with his track record of injury I fear he'll never be seen at this level again
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carsey added 18:19 - Mar 10 To begin with I don't see Scuse or Murphy as key players. Scuse is predictable and one dimensional and Murphy who I believe is seriously under rated for the hard graft he does only makes our defenders hoof the ball all the time. Regarding McGoldrick I accept he is technically gifted but I have never been convinced of his desire. I hope he does get back and does make a real difference. Poor Bishop must be really pissed off missing a whole season but hopefully the medics are doing the right thing and he'll be ready for next season. Many years ago Kieron Dyer suffered shin splints and hamstring problems but kept making come backs which curtailed a promising career for club and country. Bishop when he does return will be like a new signing.

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airliner added 19:10 - Mar 10 One step forward two back. We are just a long term 20 championship club if we carry on this way. It's not a bad thing because we would be slaughtered anyway in the premier league. Didz is injury prone and just be sold in the summer, we can't afford to carry a player half a season injured. Release or what I just don't know. Suggestions? Ideas ?
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jas0999 added 19:26 - Mar 10 Blues1 - of course they knew. MM has subsequently backtracked and regularly raised concerns about the budget. It's pretty obvious Bishop won't return this season, whilst Didzs won't be match fit. These days, clubs gave excellent medical resources. They knew, then the club spouted a load of spin. Sadly, some posters still believe it.
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ArnieM added 20:28 - Mar 10 Bishop won't play again this season.
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parkinshair added 20:48 - Mar 10 Great news about Coke coming back. It will be like his never been away.
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Kikapu added 20:53 - Mar 10 jas0999 you're a bit of charlatan. Point out in previous comments of yours that you knew that Bishop and Didz wouldn't play either late in the season or ever at all this season at the time MM had to consider alternative options. You make things up as you go along. Keep well clear of this character. Just because he's got nothing better to do other an post negative comments doesn't mean that he knows anything about the game or the club.

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