Blackburn Rovers will be without Moussa Baradji for several weeks after he underwent surgery on a pre-existing injury problem.
Rovers signed the midfielder on a loan deal with an option to buy despite issues with his medical earlier in the transfer window. The club restructured the deal and decided Baradji would have surgery on the foot issue.
That means he will be out for several weeks, with Valerien Ismael unable to give an exact timeframe on when he will return. The head coach suggested Baradji could be available after the October intentional break though it may take longer.
"Moussa, as we know, had a problem we knew before we signed him, so we need to deal with his injury now," Ismael revealed.
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"It takes time. So we cannot say now when he will be back. I would say mid-term. So we will see if he will be back for the next international break or the next one.
"Otherwise, as you say, Sean (McLoughlin) is out due to a red card. Adam Forshaw is back in training with us, which is a good sign, but he's not ready to play. So he will need more time."
Axel Henriksson will also miss the game due to a broken hand. He has trained with the team since but Rovers don't want to take any risks.
"The other one who will definitely be out is Axel Henriksson," Ismael continued.
"He broke his hand two days ago. So the injury is not that bad, but it's too fresh to take any risk for the game.
"So actually he trained, but we won't take any risk. So apart from that, yes, we've got the squad ready for the game."
Rovers' international contingent have returned without any damage, much to the delight of Ismael. Whilst their exploits have added miles on their clocks, the players have all been boosted by positive results and performances during the two-week break from club football.
"I think it's been positive weeks for the players to get some results, to play, to stay in the rhythm, to get that confidence, some great performances, scoring goals and no injury," Ismael said.
"It was good to see them today, to get all the players back. It was a good feeling, especially since some performances were really great. We spoke about earlier in the week, less experience in the Championship, but we got some players playing against (Cristiano) Ronaldo, playing against (Kylian) Mbappe, put a great performance and we've got the international experience.
"So it means that for our players now it's a new feeling, a new confidence back in. So they need to take it for the game tomorrow.
"They arrived with smiles on their faces after some positive results in terms of performance or goals, even in points for them. So they bring the confidence back, which is good."
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