McLeish to be patient on injuries

Carsley's thigh injury makes him a doubt for the derby game at Wolves.

Birmingham City could be without three key players for Saturday's top-of-the-table Championship clash at Wolves.

Blues boss Alex McLeish saw Lee Carsley, Franck Queudrue and Nigel Quashie limp off during the 2-1 win over Ipswich on Tuesday night.

"We lost a wee bit of momentum because of injuries that decimated the midfield," McLeish told BBC WM.

"The next 24 hours will tell us whether it will turn out to be more troublesome than we think right now."

The victory saw Blues stretch their advantage over third-placed Reading to six points as the Royals were held to a draw at Cardiff.

But McLeish was left with one eye on the treatment table ahead of this weekend's Molineux showdown.

"Lee Carsley has a thigh strain he says he's been feeling for a couple of days, so at 2-0 up I thought we'd got an able deputy in Mehdi Nafti," McLeish said.

"Franck was feeling a knock as well and you could see him limping the more the game went on, and he said enough was enough.

"Nigel Quashie was feeling a little bit tight in his Achilles at half time but I think another tackle put paid to him."

Although the Blues boss has ready-made midfield replacements in Nafti and Kemy Agustien, he will give the injured players plenty of time to prove their fitness to face Wolves.