Town boss Mick McCarthy is confident Republic of Ireland international strike duo David McGoldrick and Daryl Murphy will be fit for the start of the season. The Blues face McCarthy's hometown club Barnsley at Portman Road in their first game of 2016/17 on Saturday 6th August.
McGoldrick suffered a hip flexor problem during the training camp in Ireland and missed the friendlies with Shelbourne and Barnet, while Murphy joined up with the rest of the squad last Tuesday having been given additional time off having been at Euro 2016.
"Murph has had two weeks off and he needs that to recover after the European Championships because he’s just gone all year round,” McCarthy told the club website.
"I’ll try to give him a break at some stage but on any international breaks, he’ll be involved so we’ll be managing him and gently getting him back in.
"The reason he only had two weeks was so that he would be fit for the start of the season and he wouldn’t decondition too much.
"Didz has got a bit of scar tissue in his upper thigh and we’re just having to manage that because we want him fit and we’re trying to nurse him back to make sure he’s fit for the start.”
Speaking previously McCarthy said he expected Murphy to get back in match action in the friendly at Cambridge United on Saturday along with new signing Adam Webster.
The Blues' next pre-season friendly is at Colchester United on Wednesday evening (KO 7.45pm).