Town have been hit with another pre-Christmas injury blow with Shane O’Connor out for six weeks having sustained a shoulder injury in training this morning. The Blues lost keeper Brian Murphy to a broken ankle which will sideline him for three months only yesterday.

The 20-year-old Irishman, who impressed at left midfield after coming back into the side for last Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Leicester, fell heavily and ruptured and dislocated his shoulder joint. O'Connor has already missed part of this season with a hamstring injury sustained while away with the Irish U21 squad.

Speaking at yesterday's pre-match press conference, manager Roy Keane praised O’Connor and said he expected him to be involved over the Christmas period: “Shane is a good lad, an honest player and you’d have him in your squad all the time. We like Shane, even when he’s left out he shows a good attitude in the reserves.

“He’s a really honest player, who can deal with the ball in tight situations, which you’d expect from someone who came up through Liverpool. You’ve seen that in games when he seems to have got himself in a bit of bother, he’s got a little sidestep that seems to work.”

Keane says he was surprised there wasn’t more interest in O’Connor before he persuaded his fellow Cork man to give him a trial in the summer of 2009: “You’d have thought there would have been offers there, but he didn’t really play too much in the reserves before he left Liverpool, so clubs wouldn’t have seen too much of him. He’s not the biggest lad on the planet and teams do get bogged down by size.

“What I like about Shane is that he persevered with me. He pestered me, although I’d used a different word beginning with P as well!”

The Blues boss, who like O’Connor played for Cork side Rockmount as a schoolboy, says the left-sided full-back or midfielder is an example to other youngsters looking to stay in football after being released: “Shane’s story is a good one for a lot of young players trying to get in the game and make a living out of it.

“He came in here on trial a year or two ago and he’s now played 15 or so league games for us and will probably get some more over Christmas. It’s a good reflection on the boy.

“We weren’t sure about him at left-back because of his experience and because teams were targeting him that far post against his height. Shane’s been caught out once or twice but in terms of playing ahead of an experienced left-back [like Mark Kennedy], I think he might give us something. He’s a good kid, keeps his head down .”

Photo: Action Images

itfc1981 added 17:44 - Dec 24 thats it Keane will get the sack now!
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Garv added 17:47 - Dec 24 To be honest it probably serves Roy tight for leaving him out all season
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Barhamblue added 18:01 - Dec 24 Really like this fella Shane and very sorry for him. Agree with haalem blue about Townsend, why do people think he was so good,yes he was handy at going forward but give me three examples of where he made a good/outstanding cross. And how many goals was it in 15 games....mmm! This injury to Shane is very unfortunate for us and Keano and only the brainless can blame the manager here. Maybe time to look at luca but worried about match fitness. COYB

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muhrensleftfoot added 18:14 - Dec 24 RK will only play anyone who gives their all in training. I expect that in an effort to get picked for 2 consecutive games, he was tackling anything that moved. A pity really because he does actually show a bit of flair, which is probably why he hasn't played much, 'cos RK doesn't like flair, he only likes workhorses
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muhrensleftfoot added 18:17 - Dec 24 To be honest, I could go on a rant, which is totally out of character for me. All these years of supporting ITFC, but I've never felt so low about them. Marcus Evans, Roy Keane, Simon Clegg what have you done to my club?
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Barhamblue added 18:29 - Dec 24 What has Marcus evans done for your club. Only invested 38 million pound, shocking comment and again no insight to a bigger and long term future. Stick to your day job muhren
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bluelady added 19:06 - Dec 24 It's,ok we have townsend oh no he has gone that's colbeck negative football for ateast six weeks Santa u very cruel
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sirburley added 19:07 - Dec 24 barhamblue-agree with you about marcus evans.he came in and cleared our debt and i have no doubt that his intentions are good,dont understand the fans beef with him,im sure he will make the right decision on his investment at the end of the season.You must agree tho that he may have made a bit of a hasty decision in appointing a relatively inexperienced manager.Hope roy turns it round but in 18 months i aint that convinced

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petermorris added 21:12 - Dec 24 Agree with Murhren. ME has invested a tiny proportion of his ever increasing fortune in what used to be our club. He probably needs a small loss in his Empire(ITFC) to roll over every year, so don't anyone get hooked up on the idea that he's suffering in any way, but he's employed an celeb' idiot to 'manage' the players. Barnham - you're an idiot. If there really was a 'long term future' we wouldn't be off loading players, plumeting towards League 1, and have a thick bully in charge.

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Barhamblue added 23:34 - Dec 24 Peter Morris. Your post just shows your lack of integrity and intelligence to think that M E " needs a small loss in his empire". Do you really think that business operates like this? Would you invest in your club? I have a feeling probabley not. How on earth can you in your littlenworld dare knock the efforts of a proven and successful business who is backing our club. You post about keane is absolutely appalling about a man that has achieved more than any Ipswich player in history. Think about it. You and many others have one role in all this, yes one role and that is to support our club and that means the players, the manager and the owner, nothing more You know nothing about football tactics except maybe played a few games on a Sunday morning or Saturday afternoon at the very best.. It's like a plumber advising Jamie Oliver how to cook! I bet your an employers delight!

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WickedBlue added 05:31 - Dec 25 Gotta love you numpty's..."he's a bit part player under Keane"...though this is his second injury this season...bit hard to play injured players..... "Whats going on at training? Is it a jinx? Is it bad coaching?" No it's life and in life sh*t happens. Get well soon Shane think your going to be a star.
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East_of_England added 10:02 - Dec 25 What have M.Evans done to our club??? I think the correct answer is: saving it. No M.Evans = no ITFC.
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RRanger added 14:02 - Dec 25 Well said Barham Blue. I can't believe some of the people that post on this site - totally clueless. The fact that the same names keep cropping up all the time says volumes. They obviously have a very empty life.
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Back_The_Boss added 18:04 - Dec 25 Big loss, he was then coming back into form. Pity.
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WREXHAM_BLUE added 21:54 - Dec 25 Gutted! Beginning to wonder if there's an injury curse.
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bobble added 09:44 - Dec 26 i wish keane was out of action for 6 weeks imagine how much we would climb the table and the games might start to be good to watch as well you can only dream.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................sack keane

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