New signing Tom Adeyemi is finally ready for his Town debut after fighting off a mystery illness that also claimed a number of other players as victims.
Once over the illness that sidelined him for several weeks Adeyemi also had to contend with a further setback in the shape of a calf injury, so it’s no wonder that the midfielder admitted: "I want to make up for lost time now.”
Adeyemi will be on board the team bus that heads for West London tomorrow in preparation for Saturday’s clash at QPR and while he is probably most likely to be on the bench he is adamant that if manager Mick McCarthy wants to name him in his starting line-up he will be ready and willing to give it a go.
A free agent following his release by Cardiff at the end of last season, Adeyemi arrived at Town in early July and joined his new team-mates on their now familiar pre-season trip to the Republic of Ireland, where he shared a room with another new face in Bersant Celina, who is on a season-long loan from Manchester City.
Adeyemi recalled: "Bersant was my room-mate in Ireland and he was the first one to go down with the illness so I can only blame it on him. That’s why I asked for my own room at the hotel tomorrow night.
"I don’t think we ever fully got a diagnosis but it was basically a virus. That showed up in the blood tests but the after-effects, for whatever reason, seemed to affect me more. Once I fought off the virus I was left with a post-viral fatigue type of thing.
"I was coming in to do a bit of work in the gym nut that was knocking me off my feet for the next few days. I just had to let it settle down in the end, which was the most frustrating thing ever.
"Then to have the calf injury later was even worse but I’m fully clear of it now. I feel strong and fit, and like I’m in a good place.
"The frustration has given me more motivation to make an instant impact when I do come into the team. When I had blood tests they said it was presenting like a flu-like virus but the length of time it dragged on really surprised everyone, including me. I’d never had anything like it before and I hope I never experience anything like it again.
"I had the week in Ireland then three weeks with the illness. When I was better I picked up a calf injury that kept me out for another two or three weeks. I’ve been working hard in the gym but when I was out on the pitch with the gaffer and TC [Terry Connor] I wasn’t able to do very much at all.”
Understandably, after a frustrating start to life with Ipswich, Adeyemi can’t wait for his next taste of competitive action. "It definitely feels like it’s been a long time coming,” he added. "I’m really happy to be back and involved, and it’s been good that I’ve been able to get some minutes under my belt for the U23s and have a full week’s training. I feel like I’m ready to go.
"You do miss it massively but the manager has been very good at keeping players involved. For example, I’ve been able to go to the changing room after games and things like that.
"So you still feel like you’re a part of it even if you’re not playing. That has been helpful but there’s no better feeling than getting on the team bus and hopefully coming back with three points.
"It has been really frustrating, especially as I wanted to hit the ground running here. I did quite a bit of work in the off-season trying to get myself fit and in good shape to come here, so to have the illness and then a further setback with the injury as well has been really frustrating. But it’s all behind me now and I feel like I’m ready to go.”