Town boss Mick McCarthy says returning midfielder Teddy Bishop isn’t yet ready to start a game but believes he could have an impact coming off the bench. The 21-year-old is likely to be among the Blues subs for the first time this season tomorrow when Town take on Aston Villa at Villa Park.
""He’s not ready to start, but he could have an impact coming on in a game, that’s for sure, but start, no chance,” McCarthy said.
"I tell a lie, of course he could start. But how long he’d last is another matter. And I’d much prefer to be putting him on as a sub so he could have an impact with his pace and his ability than wearing him out having to do all that work that you have to do in Championship games for 60 minutes to stay in them sometimes. But he could have an impact.”
"Despite the academy product not having featured at all this season after undergoing groin surgery in August, following two injury-hit campaigns, McCarthy says the Cambridge-based player isn’t becoming impatient as he finally nears a return.
"I’m not having to hold him back, he’s not ready, he’s not ready to play a full game,” the Town manager added.
"He looks really good in training, he’s not breaking my door down saying, ‘Gaffer, I’m ready to start and have 90 minutes’ because I know he’s not.
"We’re not even halfway through the season yet and if we could just nurse him along and get him so even if it’s the second half of the season he’s ready for every game, that would be brilliant.
"I don’t want him coming in, playing 60 minutes and then having a calf injury or a hammy or something like that.
"I’m having to hold him back because he’s bashing my door down by any stretch of the imagination but he’d like to be involved.”
Emyr Huws returned to the squad on Wednesday and made an immediate impression by supplying the cross for Martyn Waghorn’s ninth goal of the season. Is the Welshman ready to start a game?
"He’s ready to play,” McCarthy said. "We’ll see whether he covers 90 minutes or not but it’s great to have him back because we can all see what ability he’s got.”
The return of the likes of Huws and Bishop means youngsters Flynn Downes and Tristan Nydam face a tougher task to add to their first-team appearances.
"Flynn did make a real impact, as has Tristan Nydam,” McCarthy continued. "But if all the players had been fit, they wouldn’t have started, we all know that. But they’re competing for the places now with everybody else.
"Flynn did have an injury, he had a couple of weeks he missed, he wasn’t fit. Then he went away with the England U19s and came back and he’s competing for a place with a lot of other players now.
"Bish is coming back. Bish is training with us every day now and he looks like he’s coming back.
"It’s just going to be harder for them. And those two lads who were great when we needed them, they’ve got competition with some older, more senior players.”
McCarthy has confirmed that Jonas Knudsen will return at left-back having served his one-match ban.
"Yes, he will, but Myles Kenlock played well the other night. I was really pleased with him. That was probably his best performance, I thought he was good.”
Central defender Tommy Smith remains out with the niggle he picked up while away with New Zealand: "He’s still got a calf injury, he’s not fit.
"Everyone [from Wednesday’s squad] is OK except for Didzy. We’ve got the same squad bar David McGoldrick.”
McCarthy says Tom Adeyemi remains sidelined with his hamstring injury and now seems unlikely to return to the squad for the Nottingham Forest game a week tomorrow as had previously been anticipated.
"He’s still in the physio’s room,” the Town manager said. "Forest is coming pretty quickly now, so I’m not so sure about that. He was fit to play but he just aggravated it.”
Luke Hyam and Andre Dozzell are also still out having undergone knee surgery earlier in the campaign.