Midfielder Alan Mahon will not be involved for Town at Cardiff City on Saturday. Blues' manager Joe Royle assessed the loanee on Thursday morning and says he is not yet ready for first team inclusion. Mahon is over his hamstring problem but was suffering with flu earlier in the week.

Royle says that the Blackburn player had been in his plans for the Ninian Park game: “I was originally going to take Alan with us, but having looked at him again this morning I think he needs more of a rest and light training over the weekend. There's no point in taking him given his current lack of fitness.”

Midfielder Ian Westlake will continue at Mahon's favoured left midfield position despite sustaining a slight knee injury in the 3-0 victory over Sheffield United last week.

The Blues are now looking at the Irishman returning for next Wednesday's trip to Nottingham Forest. Striker Pablo Couñago is also aiming at the Forest game, having made good progress with his hamstring injury.

Drissa Diallo (recovering from a knee operation, back Christmas) and Chris Makin (nerve-related hip problem, still a few weeks) remain on the sidelines

Youngster Gerard Nash will have a cartilage operation on Friday and will be out of action for six weeks. The central defender twisted his knee in training a month ago.

Dutch midfielder Martijn Reuser is OK after a minor problem with his groin earlier in the week and will be in the squad on Saturday. John McGreal and Alun Armstrong came through the reserve game on Wednesday and are also included.

Frenchman Georges Santos is a doubt but he was involved in some training on Thursday but will be assessed on Friday before any decision is made. Royle says his foot injury is still affecting him: “He's still very sore, and very tentative when moving on his foot. He has done some training, but in discomfort, so we'll see.”

If he doesn't make it Aidan Collins may be added to the squad with John McGreal starting his first senior game of the season.

Striker Dean Bowditch is not travelling to Cardiff as he will be involved in the FA Youth Cup match at Leeds on Monday. Aidan Collins and Scott Mitchell, who made his first team debut at Derby recently, are also set for involvement at Elland Road.

If Santos makes it the Blues will be unchanged from the side which defeated the Blades so comfortably last weekend, with Armstrong for Bowditch the only change on the bench.

Royle has been impressed with Cardiff so far this season: “They've had a great start, they've defended very well. They have that spirit that a promoted side can come up with sometimes.

“They've settled into the division and with the league's leading goalscorer, they're dangerous. I've always had a lot of time for Graham Kavanagh in midfield, he's a very good player at this level.

“Rob Earnshaw has done very well. Everyone wondered if he would translate his goalscoring in the last division to this, and he has. He's an international as well and you have to give him that respect.

“We saw him in pre-season in Sweden when he did nothing for 20 minutes and then scored a wonder-goal. That's the kind of player he is; an old-fashioned goal machine, and you have to give him every attention.

“I don't think he's going to be 90 minutes of hassle but I do know that at some point in the game he'll have a great attempt on goal and we've got to be ready to handle that. I suppose he's looking at our goals against record and rubbing his hands!”

“The other side of that is that sides know by now that they have to score three goals to beat us, because we too can score goals.

“They've got an ex-Ipswich boy there in Gary Croft, who scored, or at least claimed, a goal last week. It's a hard game, but in this division there is no one averaging two points or over, which tells you how tight it is.”

Croft, who joined the Bluebirds permanently after a loan spell in March last year, says he is keen to impress on Saturday against his old club: “It goes without saying that I want to play well against Ipswich and it's one game I want to win.

“It's been well-documented that I wasn't given as many games there as I would have liked and it would be nice to put that to bed.

"Ipswich have got a different manager now, so it's not a personal thing. And I'm not going to approach the game differently to any other. But a win against them would be extra special. I know a lot of the players there and I'd love to get a result."

Cardiff will be without Graham Kavanagh who has an ankle injury but John Robinson returned from injury to face West Brom in the week.

Saturday's referee is Andy Hall from Birmingham who was the official in control of the Blues' 2-1 home loss to West Ham in August. Hall has booked 51 players and sent off six in 15 games so far this season.

Squad: Davis, Price, Wilnis, Richards, Santos, Naylor, McGreal, Magilton, Wright, Bart-Williams, Westlake, Miller, Reuser, Bent, Kuqi, Armstrong.

Photo: Action Images

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