Cole Skuse has been passed fit for tomorrow night’s Championship visit of Birmingham City, but Ryan Fraser is an injury doubt.

Skuse came off with a knee problem during Tuesday night’s 1-0 win at Leeds, while Fraser was also substituted after receiving a kick during an impressive all-action display.

Asked if the duo were okay to face Birmingham at Portman Road tomorrow night, McCarthy replied: “I’m hopeful. Cole came out and did the warm-up today and he’ll be fine. Ryan’s still having treatment, so we’ll wait and see on him.

“He just got a kick, he got a few kicks to be fair.”

Striker Freddie Sears – who has scored four goals in six games this season – was rested in midweek with a tight hamstring, but comes back into contention.

“Freddie’s fine,” said the Blues boss. “He couldn’t have played at full tilt on Tuesday and I needed everyone at 100%. If he’d have gone out and tried at 100% and ended up getting injured that would have been no good because we’ve still got 39/40 games left.

“I’ve got good strikers. It’s not like before when I had Murph (Daryl Murphy) and Didz (David McGOldrick) and, with the greatest respect, not a lot else. Now I’ve Murphy, Didz, Brett (Pitman) and Freddie – they’re all top strikers. If one of them has got a problem I don’t need to be wheeling them out and getting the best out of them for 60 minutes. I’ve got options, it’s great.”

Midfield duo Kevin Bru and Teddy Bishop both come back into contention tomorrow night after recovering from mid-term injuries. Bru (hamstring) hasn’t featured since the draw at Brentford on the opening weekend, while Bishop (hamstring/shins) hasn’t featured at all this season.

“Kevin’s trained this week and Bish trained yesterday,” said McCarthy. “I’m hoping that they’ll be okay.”

Town face Manchester United, at Old Trafford, in the third round of the Capital One Cup next Wednesday.