Central defender Luke Woolfenden is facing six weeks on the sidelines having suffered a knee injury during Saturday's opening game against Blackburn at Portman Road.
"Luke went for a scan, with knees you’re always thinking the worst but he could be out for six weeks, so we’re realistically back to the position we were in with two recognised centre-backs,” manager Paul Hurst said at his press conference.
"I know I didn’t start Luke last week and we have got one or two ways around it but it’s not ideal and I would certainly prefer a more specialist person to create competition with Luke and Toto.”
Aside from that Hurst says he has no new injury problems ahead of Saturday’s trip to his former club Rotherham.
"Only the ones that we had already,” he added. "I think fingers crossed we’re in a good place.
"We’re trying to keep the medical department as free as possible and let them have a bit of time off, they’ve been stretched in recent times, so hopefully we can make life a bit easier for them.
Tom Adeyemi (achilles) remains the only long-term absentee not back in match action with Emyr Huws, Teddy Bishop and Danny Rowe all featuring in Tuesday’s U23s friendly with Cambridge.
Hurst is at pains not to rush any of them back after their long spells out and currently has no firm timescale for their returns to the first team.
"I think day to day because certainly in Emyr’s case and in Teddy’s they’ve spend a helluva long time out,” he said.
"What I would say is the three lads have all trained this morning, have completed the session no problem on the back of the game on Tuesday, so they’re in a good place and fingers crossed, that can continue.
"I think they’re due a little bit of luck those lads and the other day I think all three of them showed some signs of what they could bring to this squad and to the team.
"Positive signs, but I don’t want to get fans’ hopes up too much or be pencilling them in thinking, ‘Yeah, they’re going to be involved very quickly’. But each day they’re back out on that training pitch is a step in the right direction.”
Posted by TWTD on Thursday, 9 August 2018
Following the Championship game at Rotherham on Saturday, the Blues travel to Exeter for their Carabao Cup tie on Tuesday before facing Aston Villa at home the following weekend. Will he look to rotate his squad during those matches?
"Not particularly but we’ll see,” he considered. "It’s hard, you can always look and plan ahead, whether it’s an injury or a result or whatever it is and that can maybe sway your thinking again.
"I’m not going to make plans set in stone certainly in terms of, ‘That’s going to be the team on Saturday, we’ll change massively for Tuesday and the following games’. One game at a time really, a boring cliché but that’s what we’ll be doing.”