Cardiff City forward Junior Hoilett is expected to be fit for Saturday’s Sky Bet Championship game at home to Huddersfield.
Bluebirds manager Neil Warnock is confident Hoilett will overcome a minor strain that ruled him out of Canada’s friendly against South Korea last weekend.
Anthony Pilkington is likely to return after missing the defeat to Newcastle two weeks ago with a knock while Jazz Richards and Matt Connolly are both close to regaining fitness.
Frederic Gounongbe has impressed in training this week and could be in line for a surprise starting spot up front.
Bluebirds boss Warnock said: “It’s a tough run now with the games we have coming up,
“But we just have to get on until January now and see what we can do. We don’t want it to [get worse], we have to roll our sleeves up.
“I am aware of the difficulty of the fixtures we have coming up. I think on our day we can beat anybody.
“I think there are two or three needed in the squad to give it different dimensions in the Championship. I don’t think it’s a massive job. I think the squad needs thinning as well.
“Certain players need to be leaving now and finding fresh pastures which enables you to get a few fresher faces in.”
Huddersfield midfielder Aaron Mooy has no fitness issues but will be assessed by head coach David Wagner after returning from international duty with Australia.
Mooy played the full 90 minutes in Australia’s 2-2 draw in Thailand on Tuesday, but is expected to be available.
Fellow midfielder Kasey Palmer will also be monitored after he was forced out of the recent home draw against Birmingham due to a hip injury, while striker Nahki Wells is expected to recover from illness.
Forward Harry Bunn is hoping to return to contention after missing out against Birmingham due to a hamstring strain.
