Coventry match preview

Last updated : 19 October 2010 By Michael Morris

The striker failed to recover from his thigh injury in time for Saturday's 2-1 victory at Ipswich but is expected to return to contention against Dave Jones' second-placed Bluebirds.

King's comeback presents Boothroyd with a welcome dilemma having watched Clive Platt and Lukas Jutkiewicz combine to bag the goals which secured the club's first victory at Portman Road since 1994, with the Sky Blues boss admitting "it's a nice problem to have".

Boothroyd was thrilled with the manner of Coventry's victory at the weekend and could well be tempted to name an unchanged line-up with no new injury or suspension problems to contend with.

However, his remaining list of absentees all continue to miss out including Danny Ward, Freddy Eastwood, David Bell, Chris Hussey, Gary Deegan and Stephen O'Halloran.

Craig Bellamy comes into the fold to face former club Coventry having been rested for Cardiff's 3-2 win over Bristol City on Saturday.

The on-loan striker has only recently returned from his latest spell on the sidelines nursing his long-standing knee problem and manager Dave Jones knows he must used his prized asset sparingly, making three games in the space of 10 days a tall order.

Jones' decision to leave Bellamy out of his matchday 18 at the weekend means he is expected to feature at the Ricoh Arena against the club he spent one season with a decade ago.

Michael Chopra returned to face Bristol City after his lengthy lay-off recovering from ankle ligament damage, partnering another ex-Sky Blues striker in Jay Bothroyd, and it will be up to Jones to decide who gets the nod on Tuesday night.

Stephen McPhail was forced off with a knee injury midway through the second half of the Severnside derby and will have to be assessed, with fellow midfielder Danny Drinkwater (thigh) and defenders Paul Quinn (knee) and Chris Riggott already on the sidelines.

Darcy Blake does however return to the fold having served his one-match ban.

Sporting Life