Southend full-back Dan Harding will not be facing a long spell on the sidelines with his hamstring injury. The defender was forced to hobble off at half-time in Saturday's 3-3 draw with Colchester United.
However Blues boss Steve Tilson, speaking to the 'Echo', expects the on-loan 24-year-old to be back in action soon: "Dan can't play in the FA Cup on Saturday anyway because Ipswich haven't given him permission but I expect him to be fine for the following weekend when we go to Tranmere. It's a little bit sore but we did the right thing in bringing him off because it means he will soon be back instead of him maybe being out for around four weeks."
On the other hand it's not looking so good for the forwards. Lee Barnard, who has a hamstring injury, has yet to return to training, while his fellow striker Dougie Freedman is still also struggling with a thigh strain.
The experienced Scotsman has been out for five weeks with the problem he picked up during the 3-0 victory over Leyton Orient and Tilly is still unsure when he will be back: "Dougie has been for another scan and it's still very much the same as it always has been. We really don't know how long it's going to take for him to back fit again. Time is very much a healer where Dougie is concerned but I really don't have a clue when he's going to be playing again."