Town boss Mick McCarthy is hopeful midfielder Cole Skuse will be fit enough to be involved when the Blues face Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday, while he says top scorer Tom Lawrence, skipper Luke Chambers and centre-half Christophe Berra should all be over minor niggles and Myles Kenlock will travel having recovered from his calf injury.
"He’s been having treatment and nursing it all week,” McCarthy said regarding Skuse, who was substituted in the first half of last Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Reading with an achilles injury.
"But he’s been out on the grass this morning and he’s come back in and he’ll be training with us tomorrow, so fingers crossed he doesn’t have any negative reaction from it and he’ll be fine for Saturday.”
McCarthy felt Grant Ward slotted into the three-man midfield well in Skuse’s place against the Royals.
"He did,” the Town manager added. "That’s what substitutes are there for, to make a difference. If somebody gets injured to come on and replace them and hopefully be better, but certainly not be any worse.
"And if we’re struggling to come on and make a difference and help us get back in a game or help us to win a game, and to be fair to Wardy he’s done that on every occasion he’s been called upon.”
Regarding the rest of his squad, he said: "Chambo’s not trained but he’ll train tomorrow and he’ll be fine. Tom Lawrence had a really nasty bruise on his foot, he’s not trained up until today, but he’s done a bit with Skusey and he looks like being fine.
"Christophe had a sore achilles, but again should be all right. So they’ve been nursing a few little bumps and bruises and niggles but I should have the same team to pick from and the rest of the squad should be fit.”
Kenlock and Smith made their returns to action in the U23s on Monday after a calf problem and back surgery respectively and McCarthy says the 20-year-old left-back will make the trip to the Midlands.
"Tommy Smith won’t be travelling, not after one game having been out for five months,” he said. "He’s not ready for that, he’d admit that himself.
"He played well on Monday night against Watford, it was a nice, easy game for him, to be fair. If you win 8-0 the centre-halves haven’t had much to do but what he did he did well.
"Kenlock’s different, he’s been out for four weeks, since QPR, and he’s not had a major back operation, so he’s in better shape to come with us.”
New winger Danny Rowe, who played 45 minutes for the U23s and impressed in the hammering of Watford, isn’t yet fully fit having joined the Blues from Macclesfield with a minor groin problem.
Jonny Williams (shoulder), Adam Webster (ankle), Luke Hyam and Giles Coke (both knee) remain sidelined, while new loanee Dominic Samuel, who scored a hat-trick in Monday’s U23s victory, will be available for the senior side for the first time having been ineligible against his parent club Reading last weekend.