Luke Varney is not only delighted to be back with Town, he is also excited at the prospect of facing Norwich this weekend — even if it will bring back a host of unhappy memories.

It was in the previous East Anglian derby at Portman Road — the first leg of the play-off semi-final in May last year — when Varney suffered a torn achilles that put him out of action for seven months.

When he left in May this year he never stopped to think that he might be returning to Town for a third time, having originally joined on loan from Blackburn and then signing a contract through to the end of last season once he had recovered from his long-term injury.

It would be a football fairytale if the much-travelled striker came off the bench to make a significant contribution en route to Mick McCarthy securing his first victory in five attempts against the Canaries.

Varney, who will be 34 next month, said: “I was joking with my wife the other day that it would be nice to leave in my own car instead of in an ambulance.

“Fingers crossed, that will be the outcome and we’ll have three points to cheer. It’s a massive game but we’ve had a great week and I thought the lads did brilliantly at Wolves on Tuesday. We’re feeling good and everyone is ready to go.”

He recalled the dramatic events of 15 months ago when he went down injured just after the 30-minute mark with Town trailing 1-0.

“He was eventually stretchered off and replaced by Paul Anderson, who netted an equaliser just before the break to make the final score 1-1.

Varney added: “I was in the dressing room — and I’d supped a couple of bottles of gas by then — when I heard a cheer. Someone came in and said Ando had made it 1-1.

“Believe it or not, just before we went out I told him he’d score. There were a lot of things going through my head at the time but at that precise moment I was more bothered about the result.

“The game on Sunday is massive. I’ve played in a few derbies — Sheffield with Wednesday, London when I was down there and scored for Charlton against Crystal Palace, plus Portsmouth against Southampton. It would be nice to be involved and whatever club you’re at, that’s the best derby of them all.

“People have said the script is written for me bearing in mind what happened the last time I played against Norwich but we’ll have to wait and see about that. All I’ll say is that it’s an upbeat camp here at Ipswich and we’re all looking forward to facing Norwich.”

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