Boss Paul Hurst says the achilles injury which has curtailed Jon Walter's loan spell with Town wasn't something which could have been foreseen. The 35-year-old limped off shortly after coming on as a sub in the 0-0 draw with Bolton last weekend and was subsequently ruled out for six months.
Hurst says Walters, who has returned to his parent club Burnley to undergo his rehab, offered something different up front during his brief stint back in Suffolk.
"He did. On the pitch but also it very clear to see what he could offer off the pitch as well in terms of another senior pro giving advice,” he said.
"I think the minute he walked through the door he commanded that respect and that’s easier done as well when he carries himself as he does.
"He doesn’t have to come in and tell everybody, ‘I’m here’, he was just down to earth, a good character with a good work ethic.
"I’m disappointed for Ipswich Town, of course, every one of us connected with the club is, but also for Jon on a personal level because how hard he’d worked to get back fit.
"Then some players are very precious about wanting to stay in the Premier League but he just wanted to play football and he came out to a club that meant a lot to him and still does and now that’s been taken away from him and he’s got another long road to go down in terms of getting back fit again.”
Hurst says Burnley accepted that the injury was just one of those things: "Yes, of course. I touched on it slightly last week. He’d been and seen the specialist and he’d been to see him a couple of years previously and had got some images and evidence from the past and he said that the achilles was in much better shape than it was before.
"And there was never a thought that he would go on the pitch and make it worse, so it was a shock in that sense what has happened.
"I don’t think there’s anyone to be held accountable. Unfortunately these things do happen and as much as we have the medical team, sports science and of that that the top, top teams have but they still get injuries.
"It’s not the be all and end all but it hopefully helps, but in this case I think you have to put it down to one of those things.”
The Blues manager says they don’t have an immediate data to go on in a situation such as Walters’s.
"We get data but not in terms of any data that would highlight anything with his achilles,” he added.
"All we can go on at the time was, one, he trained in front of us, two, Jon said he was fine, and while I’m not saying Jon’s a doctor or a physio, he’s an experienced player.
"And thirdly, as I mentioned, the specialist that had had a look and said that it was better than it was a couple of years ago and that it was in really good condition.
"So that’s the frustration on part that it’s not like we’ve had been given some advice and then gone against it.
"I’m sure Jon would have wished that he had felt something so he didn’t get that injury. Like I say, I’m disappointed for us all but particularly for Jon.”
Do Town still have to pay the former Blues skipper's wages while he’s out? "I think there was a break in January but I’ll let other people in different areas of the football club deal with that.
"That’s the risk that you take and realistically it’s pretty obviously we weren’t paying all of Jon’s wages in any case because I don’t think he would have joined us if that had been [required to be] the case.”
Hurst isn’t dismissing the possibility of moving for a free agent in order to add to his options up front but says it’s unlikely to happen.
"The danger is that we’re now almost into October and that’s a long time, unless the situation is different somehow, to have not played and not been fit and I would suggest it would take a good month to get someone fit,” he reflected.
"You could argue you’ve got a couple of months to work with them but it’s not an ideal situation, that’s for sure.
"I wouldn’t rule it out but at the same time I think it would be difficult to perhaps find that person that we think can contribute and not by just being a name but by being in good shape but in the position to really help the squad and the team.”