Town boss Mick McCarthy has hinted that midfielder Teddy Bishop will be one of the fringe players who will come into his side at Rotherham United on Saturday.
The 20-year-old has had another frustrating season having made only six starts and 13 sub appearances having missed virtually the whole of 2015/16 through a succession of injuries.
Recently he had been sidelined with a groin problem but has impressed in two U23s matches and McCarthy says he would benefit from a return to the first team.
"I think it would be great for him if he can get a game,” the Blues manager said. "He’s missed a lot of football. He’s missed a lot of training, it’s been really tough for him, but he’s training really well at the minute and he’s fit. It would be nice to have him back.”
Also perhaps in line to feature at the New York Stadium is 17-year-old Andre Dozzell, whose involvement with the senior side has been limited to six starts and two sub appearances this season having made a goalscoring breakthrough this time last April at Sheffield Wednesday.
"It was always going to be the case when he scored on his debut that he was sadly probably going to be billed to be the next shining star. Not because he can’t be, because I’m sure he will be, but maybe it was a bit too soon.
"As I said before, I don’t think we were good enough to enable us to play Dozzer in the team. We were struggling and I don’t think it was doing him any favours.
"If we’d been playing like we’ve been playing in the last two games we could have put him in and it would have been a whole lot different.”
He added: "It’s unfortunate for him but he probably wasn’t ready either. He burst onto the scene and expectations are then raised, hopes are raised and the talk is that that’s what we’re going to see.
"I hoped we would. I’m not knocking his ability, I’m saying it’s how we’ve played that’s probably not allowed me to play him as much as I would have liked.”
With Tristan Nydam (above), also 17, also having impressed this season and with Kundai Benyu, 19, enjoying an impressive loan spell at Aldershot, McCarthy is pleased with the players coming through from the academy, although would like more variety position-wise.
"Tristan’s done well, Flynn Downes has done really well, impressing whenever we see them,” he said.
"I am [pleased], but it’s just that all we seem to be producing is central midfield players - Bish, Kundai, James Blanchfield, all of them are just central midfield players, which is great but you can only pick two or three at the most. It would be nice if we had some flying wingers and a centre forward or something.”
McCarthy’s Wolves side was based around wingers Michael Kightly and Matt Jarvis and he admits it remains an ambition to have players of their ilk in his Town team.
"It is,” he added. "But I think we’ve had a real force to be reckoned with with Freddie Sears and Tom Lawrence.
"They’re not wingers but they’re pacy strikers, and Wardy and Didz. Didz is in his pomp at the minute, he’s been great.
"It would still be my ambition to have that, whether they’re out and out wingers or can play in 4-4-2 or 4-3-3. It’s a great asset to have.
"And I’m delighted that Chris Hughton looks like he’s going to win the Championship [with Brighton] and he’s had two wingers all the time, which is great.”
He says having versatility within a side is important for those days when things aren’t going to plan: "I had that when I was at Wolves, we played 4-4-2 and we were great with Chris Iwelumo up front, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, Kightly and Jarvis and Karl Henry and Jonah [David Jones].
"Some days, if we couldn’t get the ball off teams, we had just adjust it, so you’ve got to have that versatility otherwise you come off and your shape doesn’t work.”
McCarthy will be hoping that January signing Danny Rowe will prove to be a regular winger in his side in future seasons.
The 25-year-old former Macclesfield man was one of two additions from the Vanarama National League in the last transfer window, along with ex-Forest Green frontman Kieffer Moore, and they could also be among the fringe players involved at Rotherham
"Kieffer’s had some game time and he’s done OK,” McCarthy reflected. "Danny was injured when he came here, he had a bit of a groin strain.
"He was looking great, then he hurt his foot but he’s trained today and he’s impressed everybody, I’m really pleased with him.”
Does it take players time to adjust to the Championship having jumped up several divisions? "I think it takes a bit of bedding in when you move club anyway. Some hit the ground running and it works for them, but certainly if you’ve moved up from the National League to the Championship it’s a big step.”