Shrewsbury Town v Birmingham City injury news as 11 out and 5 doubts

Birmingham City play the second game of their EFL Trophy group stage when they face Shrewsbury Town at The Croud Meadow on Tuesday (October 8) evening.

Blues' match against Cambridge United may have been called off due to international call-ups, but this game in Shropshire will go ahead. Shrewsbury are without a win in League One this season, and lost to Fulham's under-21s side in their opening match.

A win for Birmingham would see them overtake Fulham in second, and go to within a point of the Saddlers, ahead of the final group stage match at the end of October. Should Shrewsbury win, they’d overtake Birmingham in third.

The two sides met as recently as July with Birmingham winning 2-0 in a pre-season friendly. Jordan James opened the scoring and then in the second-half Lukas Jutkiewicz doubled their advantage. Here’s the latest injury and team news ahead of kick-off.

Birmingham City team news

Ethan Laird is due to return to the fold after the international break. He's not played since the win against Wigan Athletic, owing to an ankle injury. An appearance against Shrewsbury Town seems to be off the cards, but he could be targeting the trip to Lincoln City on Saturday, October 19.

Dion Sanderson played a half of football for the under-21s on Monday, and could come in to the team this Tuesday. He wasn't among the substitute's in the defeat to Charlton, but he is close to a return, after a foot problem had him sidelined.

Speaking to BirminghamLive, boss Davies said: “I’m hoping Laird will be much more active in terms of potentially getting involved in training by the end of the international break.

“We would then need to build up a good few weeks of training but he’s the closest bar Dion.”

Lee Buchanan was meant to return towards the end of September, but suffered a setback in his recovery. A calf injury picked up at the end of July put Buchanan out of action, but now he’s contending with a separate issue on his calf.

Luke Harris will miss out after picking up an ankle injury going in to September's international break. He was due to play for the Wales under-21s squad, but had to withdraw from international duty.

A whole host of players will be unavailable as they link up with their respective countries for the October international break. Paik Seung-ho who signed a new contract on Monday, is the player furthest away from St Andrew’s, with South Korea facing Jordan and Iraq over the next fortnight.

Alfons Sampsted and Willum Willumsson are away with Iceland, and they will come up against former Blues midfielder Jordan James, with a match against Wales on Friday. Lyndon Dykes, Krystian Bielik, and Bailey Peacock-Farrell will also be competing in the UEFA Nations League.

Club record signing Jay Stansfield meanwhile has been called up to England’s under-21s squad. The young Three Lions have home qualifiers against Ukraine and Azerbaijan.

Out: Paik Seung-ho, Alfons Sampsted, Willum Willumsson, Jay Stansfield, Lyndon Dykes, Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Krystian Bielik, Ethan Laird and Lee Buchanan. Doubt: Dion Sanderson.

Shrewsbury Town team news

Joshua Kayode hasn't played since coming on as a substitute in the 4-1 defeat to Peterborough United in the middle of August. He’s ‘back on the grass’ and Paul Hurst is hopeful that he won’t be out for too much longer.

One-time Northern Ireland international and club captain Carl Winchester is a doubt after missing the last two games. In his pre-match press conference, Hurst said Winchester would face a fitness test for the Bolton game, and so he’s another player that could soon return.

The Shrews will also be without Luca Hoole who is away on international duty with Wales' under-21s. One time DR Congo centre-back Toto Nsiala has been out for the last three games, but is back in training.

Jordan Shipley had to make way for Leo Castledine in the second-half on Saturday. George Nurse had to withdraw from the action in the latter stages of the match as well with Mal Benning replacing him.

Out: Joshua Kayode and Luca Hoole. Doubt: Carl Winchester, George Nurse, Jordan Shipley, and Toto Nsiala.