The midfielder, who made his debut in Saturday's 3-2 win over Leicester, is on international duty with the Republic of Ireland Under-21 squad.
Neil Danns is still suspended for his red card at the end of last season so boss George Burley could turn to Alessane N'Diaye in the middle.
Defender David Wright is expected to miss out again with a hamstring problem and joins Sean Scannell and Lee Hills (both knee) on the sidelines.
Teenager Wilfried Zaha will hope to keep his place in attack after grabbing a goal on his full debut against the Foxes.
