Tommy Miller's return to Portman Road is once again claimed to be imminent by the weekend newspapers. The start of the midfielder's third spell with the Blues appears to be only a matter of time, starting with an initial loan move from Sunderland where he is not in Roy Keane's plans.

TWTD was first to report that Miller could be on his way back to Portman Road back in May, with the story resurfacing every few weeks since then. Town boss Jim Magilton has confirmed his interest in the 27-year-old, but Miller wasn't keen to change clubs until after his wife had given birth to twins.

Now, babies born, there seems little to prevent the penalty specialist rejoining the Blues on loan with a view to a free transfer in January, perhaps coinciding with the end of Mark Noble's three-month spell after next week's home game with Sheffield Wednesday.

Miller has also recently been linked with former Town boss George Burley's Southampton and ex-Sunderland manager Mick McCarthy's Wolves, but a switch to Town is understood to be the Shotton Colliery-born player's preferred choice.

Meanwhile, Cork City manager Damien Richardson has denied reports claiming that Town trialist George O'Callaghan has been suffering from meningitis. Richardson says the meningitis rumours were started by Burnley's James O'Connor when he wished the Cork midfielder a swift recovery from the illness in a Sky Sports interview after the Clarets had defeated Preston North End.

The Cork boss says O'Connor overstated the situation and that O'Callaghan has now left hospital: “I don't know what that lad was on about. You'd want to be careful when you shove a microphone in front of footballers.

“He had a touch of shingles but there was no meningitis or anything like that. He was only in hospital for a couple of days. The trouble with shingles is that it can affect the lining of the brain, so they tested for meningitis but that was just as a precaution.”

O'Callaghan looked set to join the Blues on loan from Cork in January prior to his illness, having been on trial since September.

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