Ipswich Town: U21 side to play in Borussia Mönchengladbach friendly

Kieran McKenna's men arrived in Germany yesterday for a second overseas training camp of the summer, with friendly games against Borussia Mönchengladbach and Hoffenheim scheduled for tomorrow and Saturday respectively.    

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However, the club announced in a statement tonight that the Gladbach match in Heimstetten (1.30pm BST KO) will now feature an U21 side 'giving the Town youngsters an opportunity to test themselves against strong opposition as part of their own pre-season.'

The statement added: "The Town first-team will then face Hoffenheim in Kufstein on Saturday as planned, allowing the majority of Kieran McKenna’s squad to play significant minutes as a unit with two weeks to go before the start of the Premier League season."

Elkan Baggott could feature for the U21 side tomorrow (Image: Ross Halls)
It's understood that fringe first-teamers Cieran Slicker and Elkan Baggott could feature for the U21 side tomorrow.

There are a number of injuries in the Town camp, with the likes of Nathan Broadhead, Wes Burns, Cameron Humphreys, Harry Clarke and Ali Al-Hamadi all on the treatment table.

Speaking after Saturday's friendly defeat to Fortuna Dusseldorf, McKenna spoke of the need to make 'a lot more additions to the squad.'

He added: "Look, at the moment we’re short of numbers, there’s no two ways about it – with the injuries that we have, we’re short of numbers.

“So everybody who’s training with us – and I’m going to include Fin (Barbrook) and Leon (Ayinde) in that – they’re really important to the group and they have to be ready to play a part in the Premier League.

“That’s just the reality of where we’re at with the numbers and availability."

Left-back Conor Townsend became Town's sixth summer signing earlier today and flew out to Germany to join the squad. 

Fans will hope he may feature in Saturday's clash with Hoffenheim (12.30pm BST),