Ipswich Town striker George Hirst is set for a spell on the sidelines after suffering his third injury in less than a year.

The 25-year-old ruptured his hamstring in last year's Boxing Day clash with Leicester and, following surgery, returned to action for the final week of the Championship promotion-winning campaign.

He then suffered a knee injury in an August pre-season game against Fortuna Dusseldorf and, following keyhole surgery, returned to action in the 0-0 draw at Brighton on September 14.

Last month, he scored and provided an assist on his full Premier League debut, in the 4-3 defeat at Brentford. However, after coming on as a late sub in the recent win at Tottenham, he played on after suffering a knee injury and went on to suffer a nasty cut to the head.

Speaking ahead of Sunday's eagerly-anticipated clash with Manchester United at Portman Road, Blues boss Kieran McKenna revealed that Hirst will be sidelined for a spell as a result of the knee issue.

"He's going to be out for a while," said the Blues boss. "We're not sure on the timescale yet It's not going to be months and months, but it is going to be weeks and weeks."

It leaves Town with Liam Delap and Ali Al-Hamadi as the two striker options.

Meanwhile, McKenna revealed that midfielder Kalvin Phillips, available again after serving a one-game suspension, will be 'assessed over the next 48 hours' for 'a little issue he's had since the Leicester game'.

Omari Hutchinson returned to training today having been sent home from England U21 duty with a 'heavily bruised foot' he sustained in the Tottenham game.

Centre-back Jacob Greaves and midfielder Jack Taylor have both returned to training having been sidelined with hamstring injuries since October.