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Glen Williams

Cardiff City headlines as Morison issues 'mixed bag' fitness update ahead of Derby County and says he'll pray for hero Toshack

Here are your Cardiff City headlines for Monday, February 28.

Morison: I'll pray for 'hero' Tosh

Steve Morison has sent his best wishes to John Toshack and his family upon hearing the news that the Cardiff City, Liverpool and Wales great is seriously ill with Covid-19.

Welsh football legend Toshack is in intensive care in a Spanish hospital battling pneumonia brought on by Covid.

The 72-year-old was admitted last weekend with breathing difficulties and has been on a ventilation machine in Barcelona.

Toshack, who lives in Spain after spells in management with Real Sociedad and two stints with European giants Real Madrid in the 1980s and 1990s, is believed to be in a serious condition.

And Morison, who was handed his Wales debut by Toshack back in 2010, has sent his heartfelt support to him and his family in this tough time.

"Our thoughts are with him and his family," Morison said.

"He gave me my debut against Luxembourg. A great man, a great hero for club and country.

"It’s a terrible situation, but it shows you how dangerous Covid is and it hasn’t gone.

"We pray for him. When I pray before the game tomorrow I will say one for him as well."

READ MORE: All the latest Cardiff City news, views, features and opinion here

'Mixed bag' injury and illness update

Morison has also revealed that his players have not fully recuperated from their bout of illness at the weekend.

Cardiff's side was decimated in the 24 hours leading up to the defeat by Fulham, with as many as six players stricken by a sickness bug and forcing huge changes to the lineup.

It was hoped that they would all make a swift recovery, but it doesn't seem as though that has happened as they gear up for the Derby County game on Tuesday night.

"It’s a mixed bag," Morison said of the club's illness woes. "Some new ones, some ones who were ill are slightly better.

"We are going to have to address all that tomorrow, early. We will be all right.

"It hasn’t just come upon us this time, whereas it came out of nowhere on Friday. We will be in a slightly different place to what we were on Saturday.

"You have to just adopt the attitude of, ‘there’s not a lot you can do about it’. The analysts have to be on their toes, us as staff, the players.

"James Collins went from training with the under-23s on Saturday morning to playing a game of football. We all need to be ready."

Kadeem Harris' emotional message for Ukraine

Former Cardiff City winger Kadeem Harris is "praying for his team-mates" at Metalist Kharkiv amid the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

WalesOnline spoke with Harris the evening before Russian troops began their invasion into eastern Ukraine, a move which has preceded what is now widespread fighting across the country.

When speaking to WalesOnline, Harris, who moved to the Ukrainian second-tier leaders in the summer, admitted it was a concerning time for him, his family and his Metalist team-mates.

And now, the former Sheffield Wednesday and Bluebirds player has written for the first time publicly on Instagram to offer his support to the people of Ukraine.

Writing on Instagram, he said: "I'm still in shock from the events that have taken place in the last few days! A country that welcomed me with open arms.

"A country full of clean-hearted people are now under attack because they refuse to be bullied.

"I pray for Ukraine, I pray for my teammates whose families are in the middle of this disaster and I pray it all comes to an end asap! Thank you for all the messages and phone calls of concern. I can confirm I am safe and not in the country. Pray for Ukraine."

Derby star wary of 'physical' Bluebirds

Derby County midfielder Jason Knight said the Rams must be wary of "big, physical" Cardiff City on Tuesday night.

The Bluebirds welcome the Rams to the Welsh capital in midweek with both sides trying to bounce back from narrow 1-0 defeats at the weekend.

Wayne Rooney's side are trying to defy the odds and avoid relegation after their points deduction at the start of the campaign and are most certainly eyeing three points at Cardiff City Stadium.

But Knight knows it'll be a tough test because of the threats Cardiff City pose.

"These games are coming Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday and it’s exactly what I want,” he said.

“We haven’t won the last couple but we can put that right on Tuesday and we want to start going from there.

“It’s going to be a difficult test. They are a big, physical side. They’re not far away from us in the table, but it’s an opportunity for us to go there and get three points.”

Wilson: It was good to be back at Cardiff

Harry Wilson said it was "good" to be back at Cardiff after his impressive season on loan with the Bluebirds last year.

The former Liverpool forward and Wales star earned a £12m move to Fulham last summer and returned to Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday for the first time as an opposing player since he left the club.

He played a crucial role, too, in providing the assist for Aleksandar Mitrovic, lofting the ball to the back post before the Serb nodded home the only goal of them.

"It was good to be back," he said of his return to the Welsh capital.

"We came wanting three points. We knew Cardiff would make it difficult for us but I think all in all our performance was good. Cardiff threw everything at us and put us under pressure but I think we deserved the three points."

On Mitrovic, who scored his 34th goal of the season against the Bluebirds, Wilson added: "He just needs one chance. He knows he was fairly quiet [on Saturday] but he managed to slip his marker at the back post and his header across goal was just class.

"You know when you’ve got someone up front like that then you’ve always got a chance to score. Sometimes the ball doesn’t have to be the best because he just makes the most of anything with his strength."

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