HUDDERSFIELD Town head coach Martin Drury has confirmed that injury-hit defender Jack Whatmough has suffered an injury relapse and will be out for a fresh spell after a recurrence of calf trouble.

The former Preston and Portsmouth defender missed the bulk of last term with a serious calf issue and has been absent since starting the club's opening two matches of the 2026-27 campaign. He was an unused substitute in the recent loss at Bromley.

Drury said: "Jack Whatmough's injured again. He's suffered an injury in his calf, which is frustrating for Jack and frustrating for us.

"We trained on Saturday morning and he felt his calf in the warm-up for training and he dropped out, so we've not got an exact diagnosis of that yet.

Former Pompey defender Jack Whatmough has struggled with injury at Huddersfield.

placeholder image — Former Pompey defender Jack Whatmough has struggled with injury at Huddersfield.

"But as with calf injuries - and Jack's had some calf injuries in the past - they're never a quick thing.

"So it's really frustrating for Jack, I feel for Jack because I know how hard he's working and how much he wants to be back a part of it. But unfortunately, he's broken down again, so we'll have to look after him and he'll be out of our thinking for the upcoming games."

Bojan Radulovic is available for Saturday's trip to Burton Albion, while Drury has confirmed that Radinio Balker could be in contention if he makes an early return from international duties with Suriname, who are half-way through four Concacaf Nations League fixtures.

Drury explained: "Radinio came to see me before he went to the international break and said: 'Look, we (Suriname) have four games and I don't want to play all four and miss a game for us (Huddersfield), so I am going to see if I can play two games and then come back as I don't want to miss Burton Albion away.

Huddersfield Town defender Radinio Balker. Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe

"Again, would Radinio have said that 12 months ago? I don't know. But it's music to my ears when he's coming knocking on the door saying: 'Look: 'I don't want to miss a game. I want to come back and play.'

"So that's credit to him and tells you where his mentality is. I think his performances have been very, very high and hopefully it continues in that way and keeps playing really well."

Ryan Ledson (elbow) is making good progress in his rehabilitation work, while Bojan Radulovic is fit for the weekend. Derensli Sanches Fernandes (knee) and Samson Tovide (illness) should also be in the mix.

Drury, who will be without Joe Taylor, on international duty with Wales, added: "Ryan's progressing well, he's on track. He's still a few weeks away but he's back on the grass. He's running and he's just managing that pain that he's got from the injury initially.

"But he's in a good place, he's progressing at the speed we're expecting him to, so he's on track. Sean (Roughan) is available for the weekend.

"He has been training really well, looks really good and looks strong. I'm pleased with his attitude, we've always had to pull him back a little bit and hold the reins on him because he's itching to get going again.

"Bojan is fit and available. He had a back spasm, but has recovered from that. (David) Kasumu is progressing really well and probably a couple of weeks away on the grass running. He's getting stronger every day, working incredibly hard, so he's not too far away.

"Derensli should be okay for the weekend but it's ongoing; a little niggle in his knee, but he should be okay. He's had it for about three weeks now, so we're trying to protect that a little bit. Fingers crossed, he'll be okay for the weekend.

"There's no injury concerns with Samson, we've been trying to push to get Samson up to speed and then he suffered with tonsillitis. "We didn't see him for quite a few days, he was at home.

"So he's been unwell and the doctors have been treating him. Samson's pushing to be involved at the weekend, but he's just not fitness ready."