Callum Styles and Obbi Oulare are set to return from injury for Barnsley's game at Middlesbrough tomorrow while Markus Schopp is hoping both Josh Benson and Liam Kitching will be fit for the weekend and believes Mads Andersen will play before the next international break.
Styles missed Saturday's 1-0 loss at Reading due to injury but head coach Schopp said he expected him to play at the Riverside Stadium on Wednesday.
Oulare could also make his debut at Middlesbrough, having signed in the summer but struggled to get fully fit while battling a back problem. Schopp said the Belgian striker could come off the bench and that that would add a more physically-imposing dimension to his attack.
Schopp told the Chronicle: "Cauley (Woodrow) is trying his best to do everything as a striker but he used to always have a players at his side like (Daryl) Dike or Carlton (Morris). He is looking for that guy and, with Obbi, he is a different type of player to what we have in our team now. We have a lot of different players with different qualities and Obbi is a special one. He had a couple of practice sessions with him and I think now it could be an idea to bring him off the bench tomorrow."
Midfielder Benson has played one game in two months due to Covid-19 then an injury while centre-back Kitching missed Saturday's match due to injury. Barnsley face Sheffield United at home on Sunday.
Schopp said: "Both will probably be available for the weekend but we don't want to take any risks. With Josh, for example, we brought him back after Covid (to play at Blackpool last month) but we put him out for four weeks."
Danish centre-back Andersen was one of Barnsley's best players last season but has not featured so far in this campaign due to a knee injury.
Schopp said he was likely to play before the international break in early November, before which Barnsley visit Bristol City on October 30 then host Derby County and Hull City.
Schopp said: "My plan is for him to play before the next international break. He is a positive guy who always wants to help. He is struggling now because he cannot help. He will be prepared for one of the games before the break."
Schopp said that striker Carlton Morris, who picked up a knee injury in August, is unlikely to return before the break but is expected to return to full training during it.
Centre-back Aapo Halme is also out injured.
