x

McKenna: Philogene Still Out, a Few Issues From Saturday - Ipswich Town News

Town will again be without forward Jaden Philogene when they travel to Stoke City on Tuesday evening, while manager Kieran McKenna says there are one or two other issues from Saturday’s draw with Leicester which could impact availability.

Philogene has been out of action since the middle of January with an MCL injury, suffering a setback just as he was closing in on a return in late February.

"He won’t be involved for this game,” McKenna said. "Hopefully, he’ll start team training this week.

"He’s working with the coaching staff a little bit now, but not with the rest of the team, so hopefully he’ll get back to that level again now at some point this week.”

McKenna admits he’ll have a selection headache on the left when Philogene does return with Jack Clarke and Anis Mehmeti both impressing in that role in recent weeks.

"It’d be great to have Jaden back, the Blues boss continued. "We have good players in those positions, but you’re always going to miss someone with Jaden’s quality and the different qualities that he brings to the role, so it would be great to have him back.

"And you look at the fixture list, and, of course, after yesterday [Southampton progressing in the FA Cup], there’s another game to be rearranged, so we know how demanding the schedule is going to be and we’re going to need lots of options, availability being really good, and lots of quality to get the results that we want.”

Regarding how the team came through Saturday’s game against Leicester, he added: "We have a few issues from the game on Saturday, it’s still early on Monday morning, so a few will be assessed today.

"We may not have as strong an availability as we have for the last couple of games, but we won’t know that until certainly we get through the back of today.”

What to read next:

Taylor: Form Comes Into Play, But We Know Boro's Quality
Town midfielder Jack Taylor is paying little attention to Middlesbrough’s recent form ahead of this weekend’s showdown with the Teessiders at Portman Road.
U21s Play-Off Date Set
Town’s U21s will host Brighton & Hove Albion in their Premier League 2 round-of-16 tie at Portman Road on Friday 24th April (KO 7pm).
Woolfenden and Coventry Back in Premier League
Former Town defender Luke Woolfenden will be back in the Premier League next season after Coventry City confirmed promotion via a 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers last night.
Taylor: I Definitely Didn't Cheat
Town midfielder Jack Taylor has responded to accusations of cheating from Norwich City boss Philippe Clement after last Saturday’s East Anglian derby at Carrow Road.
U21s End Regular Season With 8-4 Defeat at Everton
Town’s U21s ended their Premier League 2 regular season fixtures with an 8-4 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park, Toffees’ striker Braiden Graham, a thorn in the U18s’ side earlier in the season, bagging four goals for the home side.
Town Foodbanks Group Holding Collection at Boro Match
Ipswich Town Fans Supporting Foodbanks (ITFC FSF) is calling on supporters to once again back their community at their next collection ahead of the home fixture against Middlesbrough on Sunday.
[Podcast] Blue Monday - New Podcast Now Online
A new podcast from the Blue Monday team is now available.
McKenna: Boro Are a Really Good Side, It's Going to Take a Special Portman Road Day
Town host promotion rivals Middlesbrough in the penultimate home game of the season early on Sunday afternoon, looking for three points which will move them a step closer to a return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
McKenna: No Point in Looking at What We Might Need or Who Plays Who
Town boss Kieran McKenna says he’s still not taking too much interest of fellow promotion challengers’ fixtures or results, but knows what will secure his side a return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
McKenna: Matusiwa Getting Better, Davis Back Training, Burns to Miss Out Again
Town boss Kieran McKenna says midfielder Azor Matusiwa is in a better place and Leif Davis is back training with the squad ahead of Sunday’s top-of-the-table home clash with Middlesbrough, but with Wes Burns still sidelined.