Boss Paul Hurst says the achilles injury which has curtailed Jon Walter's loan spell with Town wasn't something which could have been foreseen. The 35-year-old limped off shortly after coming on as a sub in the 0-0 draw with Bolton last weekend and was subsequently ruled out for six months.

Hurst says Walters, who has returned to his parent club Burnley to undergo his rehab, offered something different up front during his brief stint back in Suffolk.

“He did. On the pitch but also it very clear to see what he could offer off the pitch as well in terms of another senior pro giving advice,” he said.

“I think the minute he walked through the door he commanded that respect and that’s easier done as well when he carries himself as he does.

“He doesn’t have to come in and tell everybody, ‘I’m here’, he was just down to earth, a good character with a good work ethic.

“I’m disappointed for Ipswich Town, of course, every one of us connected with the club is, but also for Jon on a personal level because how hard he’d worked to get back fit.

“Then some players are very precious about wanting to stay in the Premier League but he just wanted to play football and he came out to a club that meant a lot to him and still does and now that’s been taken away from him and he’s got another long road to go down in terms of getting back fit again.”

Hurst says Burnley accepted that the injury was just one of those things: “Yes, of course. I touched on it slightly last week. He’d been and seen the specialist and he’d been to see him a couple of years previously and had got some images and evidence from the past and he said that the achilles was in much better shape than it was before.

“And there was never a thought that he would go on the pitch and make it worse, so it was a shock in that sense what has happened.

“I don’t think there’s anyone to be held accountable. Unfortunately these things do happen and as much as we have the medical team, sports science and of that that the top, top teams have but they still get injuries.

“It’s not the be all and end all but it hopefully helps, but in this case I think you have to put it down to one of those things.”

The Blues manager says they don’t have an immediate data to go on in a situation such as Walters’s.

“We get data but not in terms of any data that would highlight anything with his achilles,” he added.

“All we can go on at the time was, one, he trained in front of us, two, Jon said he was fine, and while I’m not saying Jon’s a doctor or a physio, he’s an experienced player.

“And thirdly, as I mentioned, the specialist that had had a look and said that it was better than it was a couple of years ago and that it was in really good condition.

“So that’s the frustration on part that it’s not like we’ve had been given some advice and then gone against it.

“I’m sure Jon would have wished that he had felt something so he didn’t get that injury. Like I say, I’m disappointed for us all but particularly for Jon.”

Do Town still have to pay the former Blues skipper's wages while he’s out? “I think there was a break in January but I’ll let other people in different areas of the football club deal with that.

“That’s the risk that you take and realistically it’s pretty obviously we weren’t paying all of Jon’s wages in any case because I don’t think he would have joined us if that had been [required to be] the case.”

Hurst isn’t dismissing the possibility of moving for a free agent in order to add to his options up front but says it’s unlikely to happen.

“The danger is that we’re now almost into October and that’s a long time, unless the situation is different somehow, to have not played and not been fit and I would suggest it would take a good month to get someone fit,” he reflected.

“You could argue you’ve got a couple of months to work with them but it’s not an ideal situation, that’s for sure.

“I wouldn’t rule it out but at the same time I think it would be difficult to perhaps find that person that we think can contribute and not by just being a name but by being in good shape but in the position to really help the squad and the team.”

Photo: TWTD

arc added 15:38 - Sep 27 Oh, please, no free agents re-treads!–Jackson, Harrison, Sears, Drinan, Morris, Folami, Lankester... Use what we've got!
1

cornishnick added 16:15 - Sep 27 Get Darren Bent back. He's a free agent and at least knows where the back of the net is.
3

Batram98 added 16:26 - Sep 27 How many of you now are wishing we had similar quality of football but midtable with Mick then
-7

Batram98 added 16:32 - Sep 27 Also love hearing him saying how he basically can't afford to bring in a free agent cause they probably won't be fit enough yet half the signing he has made he's said aren't quite ready for this level and have constantly been swapped around and even a couple in the U23s ahahahah what a joke
3

bedsitfc added 16:37 - Sep 27 Do we really want a short term fix????? Give the rebuild a chance ffs!!!!
2

oH_bluey added 16:46 - Sep 27 Give Darren Bent a deal! Knows where the goal is and free right now
1

Northstandveteran added 16:47 - Sep 27 Oh how I long for the days of seeing grown men in Ipswich replica kits with 'BENT' printed on their backs 😂
1

H1960 added 16:48 - Sep 27 I heard that Leon Best might be available!
0

SouperJim added 17:02 - Sep 27 Darren Bent is yesterdays man and would be well outside of our wage structure too. Give Folami and Morris a chance.
1

I_AM_GOD added 17:07 - Sep 27 Souperjim - If he is a free agent, then surely there is not a big money deal on the table? I'm guessing at this stage he is going to have to take what is offered? But I do agree, now is the time to try some of the youngsters, maybe off the bench as impact players?
1

blueboy1981 added 17:31 - Sep 27 ....... had we have given all, or most, of our youngsters a chance this season from the off - we could only have been one place lower than we are now after 10 games. Incoming players have proved mainly inadequate, with the odd exception. It was a gamble worth taking, and I feel fairly sure we would have collected more points than we have thus far, with our own crop on that field. It would have saved quite a considerable amount of money ! - and most people would have been happy with seeing the youngsters (at long last) given their chance. We couldn't have been any worse off than what we currently are, with very little, if any, likelihood of improvement on the horizon. It has all been a big failing too date- here's hoping for significant improvement - more in anticipation, than expectation it has to be said.

3

jas0999 added 17:37 - Sep 27 Really? Walters was carrying an injury and had been prone to injury prior to signing on loan. This was widely predicted and certainly not one of those things. Good player who wasn't fit. We should have signed another striker prior to letting Garner go. Particularly after Waghorn and McGoldricks departures. You'd have thought the owner would have learnt from the Murphy sale?

-1

Tractorboy1985 added 17:54 - Sep 27 Evans never learns jas0999 that is the problem! 10+ years on and in rapid decline! How he has so many ‘fans' beggars belief! Let's hope when we go down to league 1 he sells up! EVANS OUT!!
-1

mark24 added 18:26 - Sep 27 Darren bent on a pay as play deal
-1

WhoisJimmyJuan added 08:34 - Sep 28 Hurst seems to pick and choose when sports science is relevant or not, when things are his fault or not, when players have talent or not. He came in and dismissed most of our youngsters before he had really watched them play, brought in his own chums, only to see his first team winless and the U23s and U18s top of their leagues. Patience is all well and good but Hurst looks clueless. If there is indeed really a rift between Hurst and Klug, I know who's corner I'm in.

1

Blogs 298 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls