Wanderers are ready to face their two big away tests despite having their defence robbed by World Cup duty.

Burnden officials were still waiting to hear today whether emergency calls would enable them to call off the games at Wolves on Wednesday and Oxford on Saturday.

But Colin Todd was pressing ahead with his preparations, practically resigned to having to make major changes.

He will be without centre-back Gerry Taggart for both games and, although skipper Gudni Bergsson has permission to play at Wolves, he too will miss the trip to Oxford.

Wanderers are tantalisingly just one international short of being in a position to call for postponements and, with Nathan Blake and Aidan Davison on standby for Wales and Northern Ireland respectively, they are playing an anxious waiting game.

But the manager is preparing regardless for the Molineux showdown, his situation eased slightly by the confirmation that Bergsson has received permission from the FA of Iceland to delay teaming up with his international colleagues.

"It looks like the Wolves game is certain to go ahead," Todd confirmed, "but we'll have to see what happens for the Oxford game. It looks like we'll have to find another partner for Chris Fairclough."

Per Frandsen will learn tomorrow whether his impressive start to the season with Wanderers had earned him an international recall. Denmark are due to name their World Cup squad and Frandsen, whose progress has been carefully tracked since his joint move from Copenhagen with Michael Johansen, is understood to have a good chance of being included.

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