Daniel Udoh not risked in Shrewsbury's Cardiff clash after ankle flare-up

Town's final public friendly of the summer – the boss intends to hold an inter-squad training match behind closed doors this weekend – was played out without the involvement of forward duo Udoh and new recruit Aiden O'Brien.

O'Brien has missed all three friendlies with muscle soreness and now tendinitis in his hip, while Udoh was not risked against the Bluebirds after a historical ankle issue flared up.

Cotterill, whose side defended well against Cardiff in the stifling heat on Tuesday night, also revealed Elliott Bennett's ankle surgery was a success and the experienced utility man will spend two weeks on crutches before what is hoped is a speedy return to availability.

The manager said: "Daniel Udoh had a little bit of an ankle problem throughout pre-season, he's had a little niggle from the back of last season.

"We had it scanned, it just shows a little bit of tendinopathy around his ankle, it doesn't show anything else.

"He had a blocked shot against Telford which flared it up, he's had it injected, we've had it re-scanned, which shows a little bit of inflammation, not anything major but enough where we don't need to play Dan Udoh tonight.

"He's a fit boy, we'll have to wait and see how he is for the first game of the season.

"In the meantime he can carry on training, he has an appointment to see another specialist a week tomorrow, next Wednesday."

Town fans are yet to see Ireland international O'Brien, signed on a free transfer from Portsmouth, play a minute of pre-season action after his arrival at Montgomery Waters Meadow has been hampered by small fitness setbacks.

He made the bench against Burnley but was not fit enough to feature and was missing from Shrews' squad of 17 against Steve Morison's Cardiff.

Cotterill added: "Aiden O'Brien has a little bit of tendinitis on the top of his groin, by his hip.

"We had him scanned yesterday, we didn't know if he'd had a hernia, but no hernia.

"I don't quite know the intricacies of it, but nothing needs doing, there's no operation, he's just got to settle down.

"Hopefully he'll be OK then and we can resume training. In the meantime him and Dan will have to get on the Wattbike and keep their heart rate and lung rate up and leg strength."

Cotterill is disappointed Bennett, 33, had to undergo a routine procedure so close to the start of the season, which kicks off at Morecambe in 10 days, but insists nothing more could be done after it was initially diagnosed that surgery would not be necessary.

The Town boss added of the former Blackburn and Norwich star's rehabilitation: "Elliott Bennett had his operation, he'll be on crutches for two weeks, we know that.

"We won't be seeing him yet but the operation went well. The worst part about it is I suppose we could've done this at the end of the season, but specialists are not wanting to do that, they want to try other things first.

"Which is rest, recuperation, building it up, twisting and turning on it, breaking down, then all of a sudden having injections, we've had to go through a process.

"There's no blame attached, nothing to Elliott, the physio, we can't do any more.

"Hopefully with what's been done he'll be out the other side. Hopefully after that two weeks he could come back quite quickly.

"But I don't want to put that pressure on him. The surgeon is very, very happy with the operation."