Cole Skuse remains a major doubt for Sunday’s derby clash with Norwich City but there is an outside chance Emyr Huws could return to the bench.

Skuse left the 2-0 defeat by Derby last Tuesday with a recurrence of a quad problem, which ultimately kept him out of Saturday’s loss at Sheffield Wednesday.

He has yet to return to full training, with manager Paul Hurst admitting he is unsure whether the midfielder will be fit to play,

“In all honesty he hasn’t trained with the group as yet,” Hurst said.

“He was out on the training pitch and when we spoke last week I would have expected that he would have trained.

“I haven’t been told he’s not available. I think the plan is still to get him out there on Friday and have a look, but it’s not as definite as I probably thought it would be last week when we spoke.

“We certainly want a player of his experience and ability available to us for such a big game.

“He can still be out there and looking and listening to the messages but it would be a big call if all we had to go on is him saying he’s alright on Sunday.

“What I wouldn’t want to do is lose him for a longer period if we thought that was a big risk to do that.”

Teddy Bishop missed training yesterday after taking a bang on his ribs, while he, Andre Dozzell and Emyr Huws all played for the Blues’ Under 23s at Crewe on Monday.

Dozzell will definitely not be involved on Sunday, as the Blues continue to manage his knee problem, but Hurst did admit there is a slim chance Huws could be involved from the bench.

“Andre, no, definitely not,” Hurst said. “Emyr, not really, in truth. I’d love him to be.

“I think they felt it but at the same time that’s natural. You should feel it, either that or you’ve just been walking round for 90 minutes which isn’t the point of the game.

“He’s certainly moving closer. Could we involve him? Not from the start. Whether or not I look at him and feel he could contribute at some point, I haven’t given it too much thought.”

Luke Woolfenden could also be involved after returning from injury at Crewe.

“I have to say, I think credit to the medical staff and also credit to the player himself, he made a speedier recovery than we first thought or feared,” Hurst said regarding Woolfenden.

“He’s one that we’ve had a quite a bit of interest in on the loan front but as we stand, I’m sure you’d all agree, it would be foolish to allow someone like that out if we haven’t got another defender in the building with us.

“But I think it was pleasing to see him out there, especially when we thought it might have been another three weeks or so.

“He’s a young lad, hopefully he doesn’t get injured anyway, but if he does he’s shown that he’s quite a quick healer.”