Town winger Wes Burns has spoken about his time on the sidelines through injury and says he feels ready to start matches once again.
Burns was stretched off in the first half of the Premier League clash at Liverpool back in January, with the forward later confirmed to have ruptured his ACL [anterior cruciate ligament].
Eleven months on, the wideman returned to competitive action as a late substitute in the Blues’ Boxing Day stalemate at Millwall having previously played twice for the U21s.
Just three days later, Burns scored five minutes into his second appearance back when he slammed into the bottom corner as Town claimed an impressive 2-0 victory at league-leaders Coventry City.
It marked his first goal since May 2024, when he struck the opener en route to securing promotion to the Premier League against Huddersfield Town at Portman Road.
Burns hinted he may return to Kieran McKenna’s starting XI for next weekend’s home FA Cup tie against in-form League One side Blackpool.
"I’m ready and able to start whenever the boss sees that I’m fit to do so,” he said.
"I think the FA Cup would be a nice one to maybe come back in from a start point, but the boss will make the decision what’s best for the club and what’s best for the team. I’ll always be ready whenever he needs me.
"I thought I might have been a bit earlier, I wanted to be a bit earlier. With injuries like I’ve had, they’re never straightforward.
"Everyone always says they want to come back before nine months or be the first person to come back in six or seven months, but you can’t take shortcuts with the injury because it will come back and bite you on the bum.
"I did have a couple of setbacks in my rehab as you’d imagine, but as I got closer to the end I wanted to play this side of the year. I got injured in January and to play in the same calendar year was always the target and I’ve managed that.”
The injury sustained at Anfield was one that all professional footballers fear, with Burns ultimately doing the damage when he stretched to challenge Cody Gakpo, who would go on to score twice in the Reds’ 4-1 victory.
Reflecting back on that afternoon on Merseyside, the Welshman said: "It’s hard to really think back to the moment. All I remember is I knew that I’d hurt my knee badly.
"Obviously, you’ve got so many thoughts and emotions that are running through your head at that point. You’re hoping that it’s not the worst but then you’re thinking what if it is the worst. You’ve got so many things that are going through your head.
"The rehab team were second to none with me from the moment that I got injured to now. Thinking back to Liverpool, I hope I never have a moment like that again.
"I did an interview quite shortly after, and for a long time I switched off from football and didn’t really want any part of it. When you know you’re going to be out for nine, 10, 11 months, it’s hard to really stay in it and stay focused for that long.
"I gave myself a little bit of time to switch off and not really think about football for a while. After my surgery was done and the first month was out of the way and I could do a little bit more and walk properly again, that’s when I knew I needed to tune back in.
"It’s been such a mad rollercoaster of emotions throughout it all and it’s such a hard injury to come back from. I’m incredibly proud of myself and my family for coming through such a hard time.”
While Burns faced almost all of 2025 out of action, manager McKenna often cited how he played a key role off the field while in the treatment room and working himself back to fitness.
The winger has been at the club for more than four years, and was full of gratitude for his current and former teammates for their support during his time on the sidelines.
"There’s so many to name,” he said when asked who helped in his recovery. "My teammates have been second to none throughout the whole time.
"Big shoutout to Dan Morton [first team rehab physio], who has been with me since day one. Me and him have had some tough times in the gym when things haven’t been at their best. He’s stuck by me through everything, and the rehab team’s been excellent from the moment I got injured.
"I can’t thank them enough. For them to get me back to where I am now and to be able to produce a moment like that tonight, I can’t thank them enough.
"The world of football, although it’s massive, is very small as well. Everyone always seems to stay in touch, especially when you achieve such amazing things that we have done at this club.
"All the lads that have moved on, we still talk near enough every day, if not every week. The support even from people that have been and gone has been great as well.
"The boss has got to do what the boss has got to do. When I’m not really available to him, it’s hard for him to find the time to come and talk to me.
"But he’s been brilliant, whenever we’ve had the chance to sit down and have a coffee and catch-up, he’s always said that his office door is open.
"The football season is carnage so you can imagine there’s not much time for that, but he’s always made time for me so it’s brilliant.”
Burns often relies on his pace and strength in darting down the Blues’ right-hand side, and he admitted to being concerned that his serious knee injury would significantly affect his important traits when he returned to action.
The 31-year-old said: "I’ve spoken to a lot of people that are in the field of working with athletes that have had ACL injuries. A lot of the time, I would ask if they think it’s possible for me to get back to the physical athlete that I was before.
"That was always at the forefront of my mind, how do I maximise the time that I have now in my rehab to potentially push myself not back to where I was but exceed the physicality of what I had before.
"People will always doubt you, but I think I’ve put in the work and I’ve worked tirelessly. I feel like I’m probably a better version of myself now.”
Now that he is back in contention, Burns is training at Playford Road alongside two right wingers who were not at the club at the time of his injury.
Kasey McAteer and teenage star Sindre Walle Egeli have fought for the shirt in recent months, and Burns says both players will provide stiff competition as he attempts to re-establish the trust of McKenna.
He said: "They’ve both taken to life at Ipswich very well. Going back to when I first signed here, unless you know your history of football inside and out, I didn’t realise how big the club was until I signed and got going.
"I think the lads are probably figuring that out now and there’s big pressure when you step out onto the pitch in front of all the fans at Portman Road and especially away games as well. I think they’ve stepped into it excellently.
"The boss is so articulate in everything we want to do — the way we press, the way we play, the way we build up. It’s a lot of information to take on, so you’ve got to give people time to adapt to that.
"As a young player as well, it can be a lot harder than if you’re a more mature player, but they’ve both taken to it brilliantly.
"I’ve not been able to be out there and train with them until recently, and I’m now able to give bits of advice and help them along the way when they’re maybe not understanding as much as they should.
"I think they’ve been brilliant since they’ve come in, it’s competition for spaces. With me being back now, hopefully it pushes them on to do better things as well.”