Centre-half Adam Webster and keeper Dean Gerken will be back in the Blues squad for Saturday’s home game against Bristol City, while manager Mick McCarthy says central defender Tommy Smith has returned to training after his hamstring problem and midfielder Teddy Bishop is making good progress having undergone a groin operation last month.
Gerken, who was with the Robins before joining the Blues in the summer of 2013, wasn’t able to take a place on the bench for Tuesday’s 5-2 thrashing of Sunderland due to a minor injury.
"He’s fine, Gerks just had a sore hip at the beginning of the week, just from training,” McCarthy said at his pre-match press conference which was live on TWTV. "He’s all right, he’s trained today, he’s in the squad tomorrow.
"Everyone came through Tuesday OK, there are just a few some bumps and bruises but they should all be OK.”
Webster has played two U23s games having been out since the Carabao Cup win at Luton in early August and is set to be among the subs along with Gerken against the Robins, while Smith looks likely to be back involved after the international break when Emyr Huws, who has been suffering from an achilles problem, is also expected to return to action.
Speaking on Monday skipper Luke Chambers said the squad is as good as at any time since he has been at Town and McCarthy says there will be plenty of competition for places once everyone is over their injuries.
"When everybody’s fit, with the 14 or 15 that have been doing it at the moment, there’s not been much competition for places,” he reflected.
"And yet I say that, Flynn’s been in the team, Tristan’s been in, Wardy was out the other night and he’s been pretty much a regular starter, so it’s not the biggest squad but they are all competing to play.
"It’ll be interesting when Emyr’s back and Webbo’s trained, he’s full trained, he’s in the squad tomorrow.
"Tommy Smith’s trained with us today. It’ll be interesting, you just hope that when they are all back that the team spirit, camaraderie and encouragement of each other remains the same.
"I think it will because they’re good lads. But it does change the dynamic slightly when you’ve got 22 players and there are a few having to sit in the stand.”
Will those currently in the team be looking over their shoulders at the players coming back, feeling their places might be in jeopardy? "I sincerely hope so because if that’s the case that’s how you get good performances out of them. And if they’re worrying that much that they’re playing badly they shouldn’t be in the team anyway.
"You want them, not anxious, not by any stretch of the imagination, but you want them motivated to play well because you know there’s a good player coming back.”
Meanwhile, McCarthy says Teddy Bishop, who he hopes to have available after the break, is in a very upbeat mood as he makes his latest comeback from injury, this time a groin problem suffered in pre-season which required surgery.
"I spoke to him in the physio’s room this morning and he feels great, he’s been running, he’s out on the field today, out on the grass and he’s really positive about himself, which is what I love about him at the moment,” the Blues boss added.
"He’s not, ‘Yeah, I’m all right but..’. No, he’s, ‘I feel great’ and that’s lovely because that’s not been with him for a long time, so I’m hoping this last operation is going to get him fit, for him as much as anything because it’s a terrible time for a young footballer, especially as talented one like him, to be missing so much.”
Another midfielder Flynn Downes is also expected to return from a thigh injury after the international break.
Andre Dozzell is out for the season having suffered a torn cruciate knee ligament on the opening day, while Luke Hyam underwent surgery on a knee problem earlier this week and is sidelined until Christmas.