Burnley have signed 30-year-old French defender Drissa Diallo ahead of Town's visit to Turf Moor on Saturday.

Diallo has joined on a one-month contract from Belgian club Mechelen who have gone into liquidation.

Stan Ternent has a number of injuries and suspensions and Diallo will help shore up the Clarets' rickety defence.

Missing are Gareth Taylor, Dean West and Ian Cox who are all suspended while midfielder Paul Weller has a calf strain. Brad Maylett is also out with an Achilles problem.

Ternent describes the situation as "horrendous" and will take his time before naming his side: "I've got more in the dressing room than I have on the pitch. It has to be sorted out and I'll sort it out at 12 o'clock or even two o'clock on Saturday, whatever it takes."

One piece of good news for Ternent is the return of former Hull City and Celtic striker Andy Payton who is fit after a hernia operation. Keeper Marlon Beresford signed an extension to his loan spell with the Clarets earlier in the week.

Ternent thinks Town will do well under his good friend Joe Royle despite having to lose players: "They will pick up under Joe Royle and they've got some very good players. So we'll have a good match, it will be a good game of football and if we have ambitions to get into that top half dozen, or going on that way, then it's a match we need to win or certainly not lose. But Ipswich have similar aspirations to ourselves.

"They're in a similar situation to most Football League clubs. They had to sell a player to Birmingham and [Hermann] Hreidarsson was the subject of an offer from a club earlier in the season.

"In an ideal world you'd like to keep your good players, but injuries, suspensions and selling your best players plays a big part in where you're going to finish.

"They play open good attractive football, they are very competitive and they have very good players with high degrees of skill.

"With Joe in charge and the quality of players they have it would seem reasonable to think that perhaps they could achieve them.

"Joe's extremely successful football manager, but above all that he's a fantastic human being. He's a really good guy."

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