Blues boss Kieran McKenna says fans can expect to get their first glimpse of central defender Axel Tuanzebe in the next couple of weeks, however, the former Manchester United man won’t be involved at Rotherham United on Friday.

Tuanzebe joined Town in the week following the closure of the transfer window having been a free agent after leaving Old Trafford earlier in the summer.

The 25-year-old played his first game at Portman Road during the international break.

“It was a balance of training and the players had last weekend off, but in general, we've trained well,” McKenna said when asked how the break went for players not away with international squads.

“We had an in-house game at the stadium at the end of last week with the U23s mixed in. It gave the players a chance to pull the kits on.

“Axel and Christian [Walton] were involved in that, so we got them back on Portman Road in match kit and it was a benefit to some of the players. 

“We used that exercise last week to build some match-type fitness into some and other than that we've trained well over the last few days as well.

“It's a short week and we haven't got the full group back in yet, the full group with Elkan [Baggott], who we won't see before Rotherham.

“We’re still waiting on some returns and we travel tomorrow, so it's definitely a really quick turnaround on this one.

“Thankfully, the players who have been here have trained well, prepared well and the players coming back in are coming back in, I think, to a well-focused group.”

McKenna says Tunazebe, who had been taking part in his own mini-pre-season having joined the Blues lacking fitness and still recovering from a back problem, won’t make the trip to the New York Stadium but is likely to be involved in the next couple of weeks, with the Carabao Cup fourth round tie against Premier League Fulham at Portman Road appearing a likely game for his debut.

“We'll certainly, hopefully, see him over the next couple of weeks. We're not going to involve him on Friday,” the Blues manager said.

“He played 60 minutes in the in-house game last week and he's doing well, medically doing well with no issues with the back.

“He's building up his fitness and, of course, there's a process of building up his understanding within our system and our style of play.

“He’s making good progress and, of course, we have other centre-halves in good form and playing well as well, so it's a great position that we're going to be in if everything keeps going well over the next couple of weeks. 

“But certainly in this next block of games, we hope to see Axel on the pitch and starting some games as well and I would say every time you're going to need that strength and depth because it's another relentless block up until the next international break, isn't it?

“It's really intense blocks and then a couple of weeks without a game, so it's quite different, but we're again looking at six games really in the next three weeks.

“Of course, staying in the cup adds to that schedule as well, but that's what we want.

“We've got a big squad. Everyone wants to play. Everyone's training well and deserving to be involved in games, so we're happy to have the games.

“Of course, knowing that they come thick and fast and then there are pauses in the season, so we'll try and attack the game now on Friday night and attack the next block of games and take stock in the November pause when it comes.”

Photo: Action Images

Suffolkboy added 17:06 - Oct 18 Sounding very very promising ; will this man prove to be yet another shrewd introduction yo ITFC ? KM and co do research thoroughly ,so IF AT matches up ,we shall acquire a valuable addition ! COYB
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hoppy added 17:09 - Oct 18 I'm guessing the Fulham game then?
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tractorboybig added 17:15 - Oct 18 as brian clough said "If it works dont fix it"
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Linkboy13 added 17:20 - Oct 18 About a month ago i thought we had two problem positions in the side as the reason why we were leaking to many goals one was right back which has been solved with the introduction of Williams and the other one was centre half which i expect to be filled by Axel. I know this won't go down well with fans who become attached to their favourites but this is the harsh reality of football I'm afraid.

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Len_Brennan added 17:54 - Oct 18 It's interesting that he sees Tuanzebe actually starting gameS over the next few weeks; so it's league matches too (as well as Fulham) where he expects Axel to get the nod over Burgess, Edmondson & Baggott; or possibly even Woolfenden. There is no doubting his talent, and he must be doing enough in training now to convince KMcK that he is getting back to his top levels, if he is nearly ready to push his way into our starting XI.

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Saxonblue74 added 18:47 - Oct 18 Linkboy, there's not a lot wrong with a defence that has only conceded twice in 5 away league games. We've only shipped a few at home as a result of our attacking style, not the quality of our defence.
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ArnieM added 18:56 - Oct 18 ….. and what about the 9 goals conceded in recent home games? The defence is suspect snd I’ve always maintained when the ball goes in our defending box our CB’s do not deal with it very well. M ALL of our current CB’s are at risk of being dropped. I think once Axel gets in the team, he’ll be hard to shift if his injury woes are behind him. McKenna has brought him in for a reason. I believe Axel normally plays right sided CB, ( his videos appear to show that)…. So it’ll be interesting to see where the manager plays him . He could possibly play either side in the CB position, and he’s clearly capable of bringing the ball out of defence ( as indicated by the videos of him). So who knows. Either way, injury free, he’s a big step up from what we currently have in the team I’d humbly suggest.

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MK1 added 19:05 - Oct 18 No sure who he would replace on current form. Maybe the cup game v Fulham, but not in the league X1 at the moment. Burgess and Wolfy don't deserve to be left out yet, so don't see him starting a league game yet.
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blues1 added 20:45 - Oct 18 Arniem. We are conceding more goals at-home bcse,we are going for it more at home than away. Nothing to do with the defence being suspect. Or they wouldnt be keeping so many clean sheets away from home.
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ThaiBlue added 20:54 - Oct 18 I really dont think this guy will last to long to many injuries to be fair
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bazza added 22:10 - Oct 18 Thai blue… I’m sure they said that about luongo
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ArnieM added 10:51 - Oct 19 Blues1: any team that “goes for it more” should still be able to defend their own box when opponents attack us. That’s what centre backs are for. Championship clubs have better attackers and will seize on just half mistakes. This was not so evident in League One. I’ve long said our INDIVIDUAL defensive capabilities are being masked by the TEAMS ability to keep the ball. It’s what we do defensively in our own box, when we haven’t got the ball that is my concern, and at this level it’s being challenged more in my humble opinion. We need to be able to deal with the ball and the opponent in our box better than we currently do.

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JPR77 added 12:32 - Oct 19 I'm excited to see how this develops and how his availability pushes others to perform in similar positions. I'm sure if he gets the opportunity, he'll have earned it, will strengthen the squad/team and hopefully add something extra.
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Linkboy13 added 15:47 - Oct 19 Good managers are always looking to improve the team even when things are going well. McKenna didn't get Tuanazebe to sit on the bench and eventually when fit he will be in the side. Teams that win leagues or get promotion don't concede goals home or away no excuses.
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Vic added 13:34 - Oct 20 The excuse of leaking goals because we’re going for it doesn’t really hold up. It suggests that ‘when we go for it’ the defence isn’t as good as it could be, so is an obvious area to upgrade. Perhaps the next progressions step needs to be to ‘go for it’ and at the same time to keep out goals!
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