Town boss Mick McCarthy says Ryan Fraser and Luke Varney were both delighted get back to action following their spells out injured during Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Derby, the pair having come off the bench during the second half.

“You can be back training for a long time before you actually get back on the pitch and I think the pair of them were delighted to be out on the turf,” McCarthy said.

“Both of them found it extremely tough, because it is, it’s not like training and, of course, it was a tough game.

“Ryan came on and I thought he made an impact instantly and then he found it a bit hard physically.

“I don’t think Reg Varney was on long enough to have made an impact really, but just to have him on the pitch after such a horrible injury was great for me, good for the team, but even better for him.”

Varney, 33, suffered a ruptured achilles in the play-offs in May, while on-loan AFC Bournemouth winger Fraser, 21, damaged knee ligaments while away with the Scotland U21s at the start of October.

McCarthy says both have been missed, Varney having been on loan from Blackburn at 2014/15 before signing a contract with the Blues until the end of the season last week, having been released by Rovers in the summer.

“Certainly Reg, as he is affectionately known, came and had a real impact at the end of last season, the way he contributed to everything,” the Town boss added.

“Both physically and emotionally he was great around the place, he was great for team spirit.

“And when Ryan came in he lit the place up from day one. I think he’d scored four goals before he got injured, it’s lovely to have them both back.”

Photo: Action Images

bohslegend added 08:20 - Dec 23 Delighted for both of them but especially Reg, what a horrific injury! The club and MM deserve huge credit for how they handled this. Right from the moment he got injured MM said the club would look after him to help him recover. And the club did. This must have given Reg a huge lift at a time of real worry and gave him the motivation to work hard during rehab. Well done ITFC.

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clint_eastwood added 12:06 - Dec 23 Wish we could sign Fraser permanently.
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Cakeman added 17:02 - Dec 23 Looking forward to seeing both of them playing a significant part and hopefully for the rest of the season with no more injuries. Great to see them back. It very much sounds as they both have terrific character.
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