The door to the matchday squad is nearing opening for Leicester City youngsters amid injuries to senior players.
City are expected to be without Victor Kristiansen, Aaron Ramsey, Ben Nelson and Harry Souttar when they face high-flying Stoke this weekend.
It means there will be a spot for at least one young player in Marti Cifuentes’ squad at the King Power Stadium, with winger Silko Thomas the leading candidate to take it.
While Caleb Okoli’s shoulder injury picked up against Norwich is understood not to be serious, it could still prevent him from featuring against the Potters.
If that happens, Bade Aluko could be included in a Championship squad for the first time this season as defensive cover across the back-line.
The City development squad captain has been away with England Under-20s during the international break, playing the final 12 minutes as they drew 1-1 with Japan.
If there are any further injuries in training or to players on international duty, then Cifuentes will have to look deeper into City’s youth ranks.
Louis Page and Jake Evans would be at the top of Cifuentes’ thoughts if they were not in Qatar featuring for England at the Under-17s World Cup.
After their win over South Korea in the first knockout round over the weekend, they face Austria in the last 16 on Tuesday.
If they advance again, they will earn a quarter-final against Japan or North Korea on Friday, ruling them out of the Stoke clash.
Other options to be considered include highly-regarded centre-back Kevon Gray, who has been a mainstay for City Under-21s this term.
If Cifuentes preferred an attack-minded option, attacking midfielder Logan Briggs is in excellent form, scoring four goals and delivering five assists in his last 10 matches for the development squad.
Cifuentes has been cautious with the club’s young players this season, despite fan pressure for City’s top prospects to be handed chances.
Only Jeremy Monga has featured with any regularity, although he hasn’t played in any of the last three games, having previously been an unused substitute just once earlier in the campaign.
In 16-year-old Monga and 17-year-old Page, City have fielded the two youngest players to appear in the Championship this season.
However, those are the only two players under 21 to play for City this term, with 13 other clubs giving minutes to at least three under-21s so far this season.
Struggling Sheffield Wednesday have used 10 players under the age of 21, the most in the division, with Watford next on nine and Southampton and Norwich tied for third with five each.
Cifuentes has recently spoken about a large squad “killing opportunities” for young players and there is potential for senior player sales in January.