Town boss Mick McCarthy has confirmed that skipper Luke Chambers will be out of action for up to a month with the ankle injury he suffered at Millwall on Tuesday, while Teddy Bishop is facing another lengthy spell out having undergone groin surgery.

The Blues, who also have Tommy Smith and Adam Webster sidelined, have been unable to secure a replacement centre-half for Chambers in time for tomorrow’s home game against Brentford.

“A real injury blow that one,” McCarthy admitted at his lunchtime press conference, which was shown live on TWTV.

“He rocked his ankle in the first half, it was remarkable that he played on and got through 90-odd minutes.

“He is tough, 46 games, every minute of every game last year. I thought he was coming off at the time because he was lying still but just banging his hand on the ground, he was hurt.

“And it looks like it’s going to be the guts of a month he’ll be out, until after the international break.

“But I guess the good thing is that we’ve got an international break coming. I know we’ve got three games, but it could be worse, it could be the start of the month when we’ve got six games. I’m hoping he’s going to be all right after the break.”

The Town boss says his captain is a big loss: “He’s been excellent in the games, but it’s his personality as much as anything. I’ll still have him in the dressing room, he’ll be there, but unfortunately he can’t do anything on the pitch.

“I’ve just remarked that to the players this morning, whatever we’ll miss about his ability, we’ll miss him, we’ll miss his voice and somebody’s got to step up and be a voice in the back four and organise and when it’s going a little bit pear-shaped be an organiser, be a cajoler, an encourager because he’s done all of that and he’s been brilliant.

“So, for all of that, the other side is that he can’t play, we can’t do owt about it so let’s look on the positive that we’ve got players who are playing well and can come in.”

The Blues boss, who is yet to decide on his captain for tomorrow’s match, says it’s too early to consider Luke Woolfenden for his first start, the youngster having made his debut as a sub at Luton in the Carabao Cup.

“He’s not going to be a pick for me if everybody else is fit,” he said. “He needs to play in some U23s games or even go out on loan somewhere, starting and playing.

“I think there are a lot of them who can come in and do a job on an ad hoc basis - we need it to work, do it. But staying in the team, I wouldn’t think that would be the case.

“That’s been the case with Josh Emmanuel and Myles Kenlock, lads who are far more experienced than he is.

“I’d love to see him come in but I don’t see any team in the league with an 18-year-old centre-half playing.”

Bishop has missed most of the last two seasons due to a variety of injuries and is now facing what the club are referring to as an “extended period” out having gone under the surgeon’s knife.

"Teddy's going to be out for a while," McCarthy added. “He's had an operation on a sportsman's hernia in his groin, so it isn't good news.”

Had my opp, no one knows the frustration I've been through but hopefully all sorted now and I can get back to my best! #itfc pic.twitter.com/4AkasYSXQA

— Ted bishop (@ted10bishop) August 18, 2017

More positively, Flynn Downes will be back in the squad for the Bees' visit having missed the 4-3 win at the Den having suffered a calf knock in the 2-1 victory at Barnsley last Saturday.

“He was injured, he took a knock but had it been a cup final he probably would have wanted to play,” the Blues boss added.

“He missed out but I couldn’t keep playing him anyway, put him in the team and just play every game at 18 years of age.

“The amount of minutes he’d played and everything else just accumulates. He had taken a nasty kick on his calf and the problem is if he goes and plays in that one and gets kicked again he might miss two or three weeks. And I was OK, I’d got Wardy who could play [in central midfield] and I thought he was excellent.”

Bersant Celina and Dean Gerken also missed the visit to Millwall as they were unwell but the pair have recovered.

“Both trained today, they were both fine. Gerks wasn’t too bad, but they’re both all right, they’ve both trained,” McCarthy said.

Looking further ahead, the Blues manager says one of his longer-term absentees could return for the Carabao Cup match at Crystal Palace on Tuesday.

“Tom Adeyemi, no chance, Emyr Huws, yes, and Luke Hyam is playing in the U23s at Burnley on Monday.

“He wants that, he’s been out for a long time. He doesn’t want to be involved in a Carabao Cup tie that is going to be far more intense.

“Go to Burnley, get your 75 minutes, he’ll probably do 90 minutes in the next game a week on Tuesday and then he’s fit to play, I would say.”

Regarding Adeyemi, who missed the whole of pre-season having been badly hit by the virus which affected a number of players, McCarthy says a subsequent injury has also hampered the summer signing.

“He did come back and because he’d been out, he’s desperate to get back, he worked over-hard and he hurt his calf muscle,” the Town manager added.

“He’s not been out for the last three weeks with the virus, it’s been pretty much his calf strain on the back of the virus, which must have taken a lot out of him as he was on his back for three weeks, I think.”

The Blues boss confirmed that midfielder Andre Dozzell’s hour-and-a-half operation on his torn cruciate knee ligament on Tuesday went well.

“He’s fine, he’s here today, you might have seen him walking out with his dad, the two Dozzers were here,” McCarthy continued.

“He’s out for nine months, for the season. The operation went well and he’ll get the best of treatment, they’re the surgeons that do all the footballers, they’re fantastic.”

Reflecting on the current injury and illness situation - 10 players missed Tuesday’s match - he says he's never previously known a period like it, certainly not at the start of a campaign.

“I’ve never known a season like it on two counts," he said. "I don’t think I’ve ever won four on the bounce either. I’m not going to bemoan the injuries, I’ll just rejoice in the four wins!”

Photo: TWTD

boroughblue added 15:06 - Aug 18 This is starting to get beyond frustrating with all these injuries. So we now don't have a fit CB for Saturday. Very worrying. Would love to know how we're gonna get round that. Please no more injuries!
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MeenoITFC added 15:11 - Aug 18 Is it something the staff need to look at? These aren't out of the blue injuries minimal in game aswell. I understand that injuries will occur but maybe the training staff need to have a look into it. We cant afford to lose valuable players at key times.
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MooseJuice added 15:12 - Aug 18 This is a massive blow. Doubt we could afford his wages but I'd try and get Lescott in, if only on a short term contract. Experienced, left footed, free agent AND used to play for Wolves!... he's perfect for you Mick!
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Mark added 15:16 - Aug 18 It was a risk going into the season with just three centre backs, especially with two of them coming back from long-term injuries. At least the transfer window hasn't closed, if this happened in September it would have been a nightmare. This could be a good season, but only if we defend properly. Come on Marcus Evans, fund a new permanent solid centre back plus one on loan for cover.

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Bluewelshman added 15:24 - Aug 18 See if Bramble wants to put his boots back on?
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12th_Man added 15:28 - Aug 18 We are f**ked
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muccletonjoe added 16:07 - Aug 18 Totally done on the CB front. Evans really should have signed up a defender as soon as he knew chambers was injured. Very unlikely we will get a result tomorrow now without a recognised centre half.
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Cookycrew added 16:09 - Aug 18 While fully acknowledging that this sounds a bizarre thing to say, but I bet MM plays Garner as a make-shift CH tomorrow! Reasons : Loud. Good organiser. Strong in the air. 'An old school Footballer'. In short a chip off the MM block. This would still allow MM to keep the other 3 strikers to continue on the pitch. 1 simple Net Change to Tuesday's Millwall starting 11 : Chambers OUT Downes IN. We shall see tomorrow....

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PortmanTerrorist added 16:19 - Aug 18 Explains why he got beat in the air for absolutely everything on Tuesday. May be a case of being too brave and staying on too long. The defence now is easy to pick. The big question is who, if anyone, can he drop from the front 4. Not Sears based on the press conference. All 4 play again:- Bart Spence Iorfa Knudsen Kenlock Skuseee Downes Didzy Waggers Garns Sears

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PortmanTerrorist added 16:21 - Aug 18 PS I know he will play Ward, just no idea where and for whom !
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christiand added 16:27 - Aug 18 Chambers a loss, but you'd have had to drag him off on Tuesday to leave the pitch against Millwall. Bishop I fear his days are now numbered here. He's been out injured too long and others have now left him behind. Was hoping he'd comeback have a great pre season and really stamp his authority on our midfield, he needs to move for the sake of his career. Personally, think tomorrow will be a game too far. We can't keep getting results when we are missing 10 first team players and have no recognised centre backs. ME needs to get his cheque book out and fast, no hesitating and waiting in the hope for something to happen.

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bigolconnor added 16:28 - Aug 18 I'm sure Iorfa and Knudsen are capable for a couple of matches.
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Ipswichbusiness added 16:40 - Aug 18 Pretty much since Berra left I've been saying that we needed to sign a replacement and now I'm being proved right. If it was obvious to me, surely it must have been to club management? Surely, we could have found £750k for a half-decent, reasonably experienced left sided centre-back. Insofar as the youngster is concerned, in my book it's a simple case of if you're good enough you're old enough. How old were Osman and Butcher when they played there first first team matches?

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jdtractor96 added 16:42 - Aug 18 Cookycrew - why on earth would Mick put Garner CB? That is ludicrous. We still have 4 senior defenders in Iorfa, Spence, Knudsen and Kenlock. Would be very surprised if this is not the back 4
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mutters added 16:55 - Aug 18 During such times, we'll see the depth of our resilience and strength
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 17:14 - Aug 18 Real blow. Really bad luck. You can't blame anyone for this. Just hope we get someone in as cover asap.
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lozklein added 17:20 - Aug 18 OMG, Teddy Bishop.....how many injuries has he had??!! Will he ever have a meaningful season playing for us?
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LondonBlue73 added 17:35 - Aug 18 Surely we are missing the point here, three centre back in Smith Webster and Chambers is absolutely fine when you understand that Spence, Iorfa and Knusden can all play there. To criticise the club when we have had three injuries baffles me. When Taylor was not signed everybody agreed it made sense, any club that had three senior pro's in one position injured would struggle. I think we are right to have a smaller squad and develop the clear unity and team spirit we have which is often unsettled with players that get no game time. Yes this is frustrating and a real nightmare for the next couple of games but if the guys that come in can play with the heart shown in other games and we can attack then I feel the back for of Iorfa, Spence, Knusden and Kenlock will do a job and compete. We may make a mistake and it may lead to a goal conceded this is when the crowd need to support and get behind the boys.

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jas0999 added 17:45 - Aug 18 A massive blow. Big loss. Unfortunate too. Especially with Smith. However, considering Webster injury history and indeed the fact Smith has struggled in recent seasons, I still find it odd that we didn't replace Berra. Shame for Bishop but sadly I can't see him recovering and recapturing the form from a few seasons back.
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Swn98 added 17:59 - Aug 18 Got to keep the faith and hope that we can keep the momentum up perhaps now the moaners that sat behind me at Millwall, bemoaning everything that Chambo does will realise what an asset he is to the team. Still think we are good enough to beat an average Brentford team. COYB.
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Lightningboy added 18:28 - Aug 18 What is it with players these days?!...too soft?..over trained?..under fit?..over fit?..too pampered? One thing's for sure,if Luke Chambers is injured,it's definitely serious..shame the rest of the squad aren't built like him,physically and mentally.
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blue75 added 18:41 - Aug 18 To answer Mick's point about 18 years playing first team football maybe he could have a quick chat with Titus Bramble. If we play them they'll get the experience.
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Seasider added 20:07 - Aug 18 Listening to the interview,Mick got a bit cross when asked if he regretted letting Steven Taylor go said no.Went onto say that there are several young centre backs available from Prem;but he believes that you need a big 'hairy arsed'defender for that position. He was talking about the semi-permanent replacement,not for tomorrow;so will probably bring in Kenlock and move Knudsen inside I should think. Cant think what he will do if decides to play 5 at the back though;but will just have to trust his judgement.

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RegencyBlue added 20:15 - Aug 18 Its a month but Chambers will be back. Bishop on the other hand looks like he's never going to be fit enough to have a proper career.
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coolcat added 21:50 - Aug 18 I agree Swn98. Takes a lot for Chambers to be injured. But we've managed before. Sometimes in these situations it can make the team resolve stronger. There is also a good team spirit around the place. Chambers will be there encouraging the team, as well. :)
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