Manuel Pellegrini has a 72 hour dilemma ahead of him which will take some very careful team planning.
And there appears to be a possibility he may take half a step backwards against Manchester City by resting one or two key players ahead of Saturday’s match against Newcastle.
After two weeks without a game the Irons will have seen action in three games within eight days and that could well mean changes to the team with players returning.
He gives little away and is a master of the surprise element on match days as he has shown on various occasions this season and this week has the luxury of making changes.
Fabian Balbuena won’t be making it on Wednesday evening but is likely to come into contention for the Newcastle clash at the weekend.
And the situation surrounding Manu Lanzini is clear with the manager having explained that his game time situation will need to be very carefully managed.
What remains is for the boss to decide the importance he attaches to the City match and whether he puts out his strongest team for that or the game against the Geordies.
Talking to reporters he said: ” We have two games in less than 72 hours so I think it would be intelligent to have a good starting XI in both games.
I am not worried about Friday to Wednesday – but Wednesday to Saturday yes. We will see. I have not decided yet.
We will see who recovers the best. I will also talk with the medical staff. We will decide the starting XI tomorrow.