Blue boss Mick McCarthy says striker Paul Taylor needs surgery on the cracked bone in his foot he suffered in the game against Wolves in September and that he is expected to be out for the season. The 25-year-old was injured in only his third match for Town having signed for an initial fee of £1.5 million from Peterborough in August.
Town had hoped that resting the injury for six weeks would all that would be needed for him to get over the problem but the frontman received the bad news after a visit to a specialist.
"Paul Taylor’s going to need surgery,” McCarthy confirmed. "He’s not going to be available to me for a while. He’s going to have surgery on his foot.
"It’s a massive blow for him, that’s the main thing. He’s a lad who is progressing in his career, everybody likes him and he’s a good little player and now he can’t play.
"My thoughts are for him. Maybe we can do something else. He can’t, he’s just got to have it operated on and get rehabbed. We’ll be fortunate to have him available this season.”
In terms of other injuries ahead of Tuesday’s game at Crystal Palace, midfielder Guirane N’Daw, who impressed his new manager at Birmingham, will be assessed having been replaced late on at St Andrew’s: "He's got cramp in both his calves and hamstrings, so we’ll see.”
Skipper Carlos Edwards took a few knocks at the weekend but is fine: "It was like they targeted him! He’s training, he’s fine.”
McCarthy says he’s yet to hear from the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation regarding Edwards being required for Soca Warriors games outside the international window later in the month.