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Naylor: No Penalty - Ipswich Town News

Central defender Richard Naylor says that referee Matt Messias was right not to award a penalty after an incident where the ball struck his hand early in the second half of Town's 1-1 draw at Preston. Meanwhile, Preston keeper Gavin Ward's injury is not as serious as originally thought.

Naylor told the club site that when the handball incident happened he wasn't even aware of the ball striking him: "I didn't even know it had hit my hands at the time.

"I turned around because I knew the guy was coming in from behind and the ball deflected away from him.

"Having seen the incident on TV, the ball has hit my hands but it certainly wasn't intentional. It's a case of ball hitting hand, not the other way around."

Tommy Miller's nose-grabbing goal celebration was apparently a tribute to absent striker Shefki Kuqi who recently suffered a broken nose and not a reference to seventies children's programme Rentaghost.

Referee Messias is reported to have agreed to take a second look at James Scowcroft's booking for a foul on Chris Sedgwick. Video evidence showed the striker clearly win the ball. According to Leicester City's official site, the booking was Scowcroft's fourth of the season and not his fifth as reported elsewhere.

Preston keeper Gavin Ward suffered what looked to be a serious facial injury in a clash with Ian Westlake during the second half of Friday's game. The keeper was stretchered off and taken to hospital but was released later that evening.

Lilywhites' physio Andrew Balderston says the much-travelled keeper is on the mend: "He was in and out of consciousness for five minutes, which was why he was not moved, and he suffered a cut on the top of the left eyelid. However, this did not need any stitches.

"We've seen an eye specialist this morning and he has suffered bruising on the back of the eye from the trauma.

"He is now unable to do anything for two weeks after which time he will then need further tests to determine the total length of time he will be out of football.

"Apart from eye, he is feeling considerably better today and would like to thank everyone for thoughts and concerns."

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