Michael Mancienne a doubt for Blues showdown

Mick McCarthy this afternoon admitted Michael Mancienne was a doubt for Sunday's Blues showdown.

Mancienne became Wolves' fifth midfield casualty after he suffered a knee injury in Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Blackburn.

The on-loan Chelsea midfielder aggravated a problem in his tendon which forced him off just seven minutes after the break.

Mancienne hasn't been ruled out of action this weekend, but boss McCarthy described him as a doubt.

Mancienne would join Karl Henry, David Jones, Adlene Guedioura and David Davis on the sidelines but Dave Edwards could return to action.

"Michael's got a sore tendon in his knee," said McCarthy this afternoon.

"He's been for a scan and we'll see how he is but he's got quite a sore knee at the moment.

"I wouldn't say he's definitely out for Sunday, but he's a doubt.

"I can't afford to rule anyone out at the minute.

"It's something that started to niggle him and it just got worse in the game.

"Dave Edwards trained today but he's been out for four weeks so we'll see how he is in training first.

"David Jones has been admitted to hospital - he's been having antibiotics and he's a serious doubt for Sunday."

McCarthy, though, refused to blame the injuries for their woeful defending on Saturday.

"I've never bemoaned an injury list and I'm not going to start now," he said. "With the team we had out we started really well and up until the corner kick we'd had a really good first 25 minutes.

"No matter what team we put on the pitch we shouldn't concede that first goal the way we did. There's no bigger realist and pragmatist than myself but I'm not going to be making excuses for the goals."

Wolves hit the woodwork three times in the first five minutes through Stephen Ward - who played central midfield for the first time competitively - and Ronald Zubar (twice) only to concede three goals in 26 minutes, two of them set-pieces.

"We started really well," said McCarthy. "Then we defended badly from a corner which gave them a goal and then defended even worse for the second."

"Blackburn work at their setpieces and are good at them but those goals were soft and 'milky' from our point of view. For that first goal there were two free headers in our box and that can't happen.

"We had a bad day defending, that's for sure."

Wolves have not now kept a clean sheet in 22 matches but McCarthy said: "We've just got to keep going and working at it."

"We keep trying to get the best out of the players.

"They give us absolutely everything and I take pride in that - they do give me every last drop."