Ipswich Town boss Mick McCarthy has no new injury concerns ahead of tomorrow night’s visit to Sheffield Wednesday, while he doesn’t expect the Blues’ blank weekend to have any impact on the visit to Hillsborough.
McCarthy’s men return to action after Saturday’s clash with Hull was postponed due to the freezing conditions, looking to build on the victory at Preston last time out.
Joe Garner has been dealing with a number of knocks while Mustapha Carayol has recovered from the illness which forced him off at half-time, with both fit to take their places against the Owls.
McCarthy also confirmed Cole Skuse will start on what will be his 200th appearance since joining the club from Bristol City in 2013. Long-term absentees Emyr Huws, Tom Adeyemi, Andre Dozzell and Teddy Bishop remain sidelined.
“We’re all OK,” McCarthy said.
MORE: The Ipswich Town Oscars: Who will win leading male, best newcomer, biggest villain and best hair?
“Joe (Garner), who has been nursing a number of bumps and bruises is out training today so we’re all OK.”
“Muzzy’s (Carayol) alright and has trained ever since, but it was a great start by him and he’s impressed everybody.”
With the Hull clash rearranged for Tuesday, March, tomorrow’s game is the first of four games in 12 days, with McCarthy admitting he will have to use the full extent of his squad during a busy period.
“What’s the point of me moaning about it because it’s not something I can do anything about,” McCarthy said of his side’s cluttered fixture list.
“There was a date in April apparently but, had we played Hull, we would still be playing four games in a short period of time.
“We’ll get the games played because, at the minute, we’re alright with players in terms of having a fit squad so we can cope with it.
“There’s not one team going to play all those four games, that’s for sure.”
The Blues trained on the Portman Road pitch on Saturday after the Hull game fell victim to the weather but, despite the break in routine, McCarthy isn’t expecting the postponement to disrupt his side’s visit to Hillsborough.
“Hopefully it’s not (going to have an impact) because in terms of our preparation it’s just changed it,” he said.
“You can put too much on that and say it’s ruined everything but the reality is we could only nick half a pitch that the ground staff were brilliant for getting us on the Tuesday.
“It was the same on the Thursday when me and the lads helped put the covers back on but the frost got in so we couldn’t train there.
“We trained at Portman Road on the Saturday and the pitch was fine. We had a really good session so that’s given them some leg work and opened the lungs. They had Sunday off with their families and we’re travelling now so I don’t think it’s thrown that much of a spanner in the works.
MORE: When Saturday Comes... Or rather when it doesn’t for Town fans these days!
“I won’t be saying that it has after the game if the result’s not right because it really hasn’t.
“Sheffield Wednesday played and got slapped (4-0) at Bristol City so if we had played on Saturday everything would have been feeling great, or if we’d not won it would have been different.
“It is what it is and it hasn’t thrown any spanners in the works I don’t think.”
FACEBOOK: Follow us on Facebook for all the latest Blues news, views, interviews and videos
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here