Town have confirmed that Crystal Palace midfielder Jonny Williams has rejoined the Blues on a 93-day loan, as TWTD revealed on Saturday. The Wales international is at Playford Road this morning training with the squad ahead of the trip to South Yorkshire for Tuesday’s game at Sheffield Wednesday.
"I’m delighted to have him back in the squad,” manager Mick McCarthy said. "On the back of four wins, which is great for us, it’s great for us to be getting a player of his quality come in.
"I think one of his concerns when he was deciding where he was going to go - because he had a number of options, as you can imagine - was whether he would play because we’ve been playing well.”
McCarthy says Williams, who was interesting his former Eagles boss Dougie Freedman at Bolton in addition to other Championship clubs, is fit enough to be involved at Hillsborough: "He played against Newcastle [in the Capital One Cup] the other night and got 80 minutes, he's fine."
The Town boss was able to reassure the 20-year-old that he would get games while at Portman Road: "You tell them anything to get them in through the door!
"If you think we’re signing Jonny Williams, as good as he was the last time, and he’s going to be sat warming the bench during his loan spell, that’s not going to happen.
"Everybody saw him last year and it’ll give everybody a lift and a boost. On the back of the results to see him coming in, knowing what quality he is.”
Palace will be entitled to recall Williams at 24 hours' notice after the first 28 days of his loan at Portman Road, as is standard with these deals.
As is often the case when the Blues have two games in quick succession, Williams and the rest of the squad underwent cryotherapy in a portable facility parked in the Playford Road car park prior to training this morning.
This sees them enter a chamber at temperatures down to -130°C for around two minutes while wearing nothing other than shorts, protection against frostbite on their knees and elbows, gloves, goggles and a hat.
The process removes lactic acid and prevents muscle damage, thereby aiding recovery.
Photo: ITFC