Town boss Paul Hurst says two unnamed players are injury doubts ahead of Saturday’s trip to Birmingham City, while Andre Dozzell has made progress regarding his fitness but Emyr Huws suffered what’s hopefully a minor setback in training today.

“We’ve had a couple of knocks in training that could rule players out, so that might have to be a late call,” Hurst said.

“We are travelling tomorrow which is not ideal in terms of knowing exactly what we’re doing but we’ll see how they are.”

Willing to say who they are? “I can give you a really short answer there - no! No, sorry, things might change over the next 24 hours, we’ll see.

Regarding Andre Dozzell, still to make a competitive first-team appearance following last season's ruptured cruciate knee ligament, Hurst says he’s closer to involvement with the first team having impressed his manager in the 4-1 U23s victory over Coventry on Monday.

“He did well the other night, he had a little spell along with the team where they just drifted out of it and the pleasing bit was that then he finished stronger,” Hurst added.

“He’s moving in the right direction. His fitness side, he’s not a million miles away, which is pleasing.

“If we can get him involved, I’ve said from the start what I think of him as a player, so hopefully he might not be too far away.”

Wales international Huws had looked to have pushed on until today, Hurst said: “Emyr, I felt like we were having a really good week with him, his mindset has been very positive and then he’s come off training there and he’s saying he’s got a bit of swelling in the back of his knee and he’s not feeling too good about himself again.

"“He got through training but I can’t say he’s on top of the world because he’s frustrated because there’s some swelling behind his knee.

“We’re doing better, we are doing better but it’s just getting to that point where he’s had two or three weeks’ training with nothing.

“And the U23s, we decided not to play him and just try and get some more training in him and it looked like it was going well until today, but we’ll see how he is this afternoon and in the morning.”

Aside from Jon Walters, who has returned to Burnley for treatment on the achilles injury whcih has curtailed his loan spell, Teddy Bishop is around a week away from a return to training following his hamstring problem, while Tom Adeyemi is back out running but some way off getting back in match action.

“While it might seem a strange thing to say in some respect, it’s good that people are fit and available,” Hurst said regarding the injury situation overall.

“When you’re flying I expect that, but when you’re at the other end of the league it’s very easy to go, ‘I’ll just give it a little bit longer or I’ll take a step back or I just felt that little niggle, I don’t quite fancy it this weekend because things aren’t going too well'.

“Again that’s a credit to the players individually and hopefully in terms of what we’re trying to create, that mentality to push on.

“You always have adversity, it’s how you deal with that and respond to that. And that’s what we’re looking for, people to step up and want to make a difference out on that pitch.”

With Walters injured, Hurst no longer has to pick a loanee to drop out of the matchday squad with Janoi Donacien coming back into the picture for Saturday having been the player to miss out.

“Yes, he does,” the Blues boss added. “And he was the one that was unlucky last week.

"In fairness I thought he did well, particularly his one v one defending against a difficult opponent in that second half against Brentford and showed what he can do. That’s one thing that has been taken away but I’d rather still have that problem.”

Photo: TWTD

Edmundo added 22:03 - Sep 27 It's not physical strength we have to worry about, but mental. We need strong characters in this squad. Such a shame Walters is gone.
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shakytown added 23:36 - Sep 27 Sooner or later a teams going to give us a real whacking and it might just be Birmingham. They are hungry to win and will see us as 3 points for free. And lets face it we are at the moment as we cant defend , our midfield is non existent and our strikers could not score at a cheap establishment somewhere near Bangkok. I wonder how many changes Hurst will make this week in a desperate hope for a flukey win?????

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GiveusaWave added 00:23 - Sep 28 Agree with Edmundo...our players are quite physical. Technical ability seems to be the over-riding issue....we play like a very physical league 1 team...
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KiwiBlue2 added 03:37 - Sep 28 While I have given Hurst credit for trying a few alternative systems when his favoured one did not produce a win I think that he should move back to his favoured structure and stick with it for several games. I think that would focus the players and produce the best chance of getting a 3 pointer...... coyb
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Henrietta_R_Hippo added 05:59 - Sep 28 Hmmm glad to see that most commenters on this article got the "right" pov, but nevertheless I still feel strangely compelled to add that I don't quite follow the logic of those among our fans who still to this day bemoans *certain* of namely this & the last couple of seasons ITFC players predominantly to be found in the infirmary (which this season no longer includes one of its absolute most frequent visitors i.e. the otherwise very venerable Didz) as if them specifically & RECURRINGLY being there... being nothing but "bad bad luck"?! As in in their view also btw, ITFC as a whole have had and still have extraordinary so called "more bad bad luck", of all sorts, than any of our league competitors again speaking of this Hurst led & most recent MM led seasons?! Granted, Muck through a combination of his premier connections & one-eyed scout made some pretty good and/or very lucrative (for always-looking-to-make-an-extra-million Scrooge Evans obviously!) deals during his tenure. And diehard worshippers of Muck love to recite those again and again. No personal problem with that little custom actually, but sadly in their often very narrow & selective memory many of the same fans simultaneously tend to conveniently forget the sheer ABUNDANCE of nearly never-used, utterly useless and/or blatantly injury-prone acquisitions, loans or re-signings MM most certainly also made and rightly will (along with the sheer burden of their combined wages cost at least) be forever connected with too! That latter mentioned group of contributing (NOT!) players, as a list, is especially loooong people... and on that you also find more recent "frail" signings still on contract here under Hurst, like Adeyemi & Huws & local boy Bishop. Ehhh and then I pointedly ask myself: Why is it apparently still jaw-droppingly ASTONISHING to *some* that a player with a renowned and preexisting fairly long history of injuries, like say Huws, currently is what do you know quote "presently unavailable"??? To me that's flat out is super silly! and directly akin to say buying an awesome place on the Shetland Islands... and then afterwards start to, in earnest, bemoan & biaaaacht on and on and on about there being too freakin' windy (and beyond) the vast majority of the time!!!

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Henrietta_R_Hippo added 06:19 - Sep 28 Oh and as for the public demand for young Dozzell to get playing time in the 1st team... Fully concur, but hmmmm are we fans to take it as something ultra encouraging to hear Hurst now say he is"Not a millions miles away"???!!! (LMAO Please remind me again of the awesomeness of "Sport Science" dear "likable" Paul, and then how many combined minutes Andre has factually played recently in the albeit somewhat slower paced U23 team???)... Well speaking exclusively of our club maybe that really leaves only YOU dear "likable" Paul still *habitually* appearing roughly ABOUT "A millions miles away" (read: Out of your depth) for this tough league then??? :-D :-D

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DiamondGezzer added 07:53 - Sep 28 I wonder what would happen should the players be told that their unavailability would drastically reduce their wage packet. Say like a salesman who might get a basic salary and then top ups, and a win for the team meaning that they would get the kind of salary that they still pick up now for doing nothing. Yes, they would all put themselves on the transfer list - shame !

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tractorboybig added 09:17 - Sep 28 perhaps hurst and doig could be the doubts
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Dissboyitfc added 09:52 - Sep 28 Rugby to come Had hurst paid 750,000 for Donacien he would not have left him out! Donacien for the time being is a loan player.
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roytheboy added 10:36 - Sep 28 Mick Mills said recently on Radio Suffolk, that during his time as a player, the Manager always picked his best 11 whether it was league or cup, that should therefore mean that Bart should be playing again, Gerks is a good keeper, however Bart is the better of the two, we do not have a team, simply 11 players that are constantly being changed, surely Freddie Sears must be better than some players ? particularly I feel Harrison, I am disappointed in him.

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Bluebongo added 10:54 - Sep 28 Paul Hurst is so far out of his depth that it,s now becoming embarassing.
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