Returning from the September international break, Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna revealed that he had a fully fit squad at his disposal. That’s all changed in a matter of weeks, with five players sidelined through injury. Alex Jones takes a closer look...
Axel Tuanzebe
The most recent concern of the bunch. McKenna confirmed going into the trip to West Ham that some of his players would have late fitness checks going into the game. He refused to name them, but the DR Congo national team confirmed on Friday night that Axel Tuanzebe had withdrawn from the squad with an injury.
As a result, he was absent from the defeat in East London, with Ben Johnson stepping in at right-back to replace him.
After the game, McKenna said: He's done a hand injury, a very unfortunate accident.
"He's had surgery and will be out for a while. It's not going to be a couple of weeks, probably longer. There are still discussions with the specialists.
"He's naturally a miss with the way he's started the season. He's going to be out for a little while.
"We're going to have to adjust and regroup as a team."
From what we understand, this sounds like a freak injury involving some glass. The fact that it’s required surgery indicates the severity. While a hand injury wouldn’t seem like the kind of issue to rule out a football player for a long period of time, we can’t forget that any sort of contact sport can be problematic after having a wound patched up.
We’re yet to have a proper timeframe on his recovery, but this one sounds like a few weeks minimum.
Jens Cajuste
Jens Cajuste was surprisingly left out of the squad for Ipswich’s 2-2 draw against Aston Villa. McKenna didn’t discuss the decision after the match, but after it was revealed that he hadn’t been called up by the Swedish national team for their Nations League C games, it became clear that he was carrying a knock.
“It’s a little issue with his knee, hopefully not too major,” McKenna said ahead of the West Ham game. “I thought he had a good first showing against Southampton, but he had a little issue after that and we’re hoping to have him back after the international break.”
As mentioned, this one doesn’t seem to be a big problem, which is good news. McKenna is clearly hoping that he’ll be involved in the home game against Everton on October 19th, but it may hinge on how much he trains during the international break.
If any issues arise, his return may be postponed. As things stand, however, this one looks more like days rather than weeks.
Ali Al-Hamadi
Ali Al-Hamadi has struggled for Premier League minutes, having featured off the bench against Liverpool, Manchester City and Fulham. Since the September international break, however, he’s yet to even make the bench. His call-up to the Iraq national team was seen as a good opportunity for him to get some extra minutes.
Alas, it wasn’t to be. It’s since been confirmed that he’s had to withdraw from the squad with a knock, missing their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Palestine and South Korea.
McKenna hasn’t addressed this one yet, so we’ll have to wait and see what the severity is and whether he could be involved after the international break. That being said, with Liam Delap in fine form and George Hirst fit and firing, he hasn’t been needed.
Massimo Luongo
In Cajuste’s absence, Massimo Luongo would usually be nailed on to make the bench for Ipswich. However, he too was left out of the squad for the game at West Ham, with Luke Woolfenden taking his place among the substitutes.
This was a bit of a surprise given that he’d only just come out of international retirement, having been called up by new Australia boss Tony Popovic for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan. However, the Socceroos soon confirmed that he’d dropped out of the squad due to an injury.
Like Al-Hamadi, this is one that McKenna is yet to address, so we’ll have to wait until next week to find out what type of injury he’s sustained and how long he’ll be out for.
Although he hasn’t played as much as he would’ve liked this season, his absence - coupled with Cajuste’s injury - leaves Ipswich light in the centre of the park with just three midfielders.
Cieran Slicker
With Arijanet Muric sidelined through injury, Christian Walton started Ipswich’s opener against Liverpool. That saw Cieran Slicker move onto the bench, which is the only time he’s made their Premier League matchday squad so far this season.
That being said, he’s still an important part of the goalkeeping department at the club and a vital member of Scotland Under-21’s side, who he captains. As a result, it’s a blow to see him miss their upcoming matches against Belgium and Kazakhstan, which they’ll likely need to win to guarantee a place at next summer’s EURO U-21 finals.
The 22-year-old picked up a knock in the build-up to the 1-1 draw away at Southampton.
“It’s a shame about his little injury,” McKenna said after Slicker penned a new four-year deal. “We’re glad to have his future tied down.”
As a result, 19-year-old shot-stopper Henry Gray has been travelling to games with the first-team squad.
Nathan Broadhead and Harry Clarke
Both Nathan Broadhead and Harry Clarke are fit and ready to play. The former injured his hamstring in pre-season while the latter missed the start of the campaign after undergoing surgery on his Achilles.
Broadhead, however, is yet to make Ipswich’s matchday squad in the Premier League. His last competitive game was the 2-0 win against Huddersfield Town at the start of May, which famously secured their promotion from the Championship.
He’s set to represent Wales on international duty in the next few days, having been called up by Craig Bellamy for their Nations League B games against Iceland and Montenegro. That should help him get back up to full speed after so long out.
Clarke hasn’t played a competitive match since the 3-3 draw away at Hull City at the end of April, managing just eight minutes off the bench at the end of the match. His last start came in the stalemate at home to Watford a couple of weeks earlier, where he played the full 90 minutes.
The right-back doesn’t have the benefit of international duty to help him get back to his normal levels, but he did return to the squad on Saturday as an unused substitute against West Ham.
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