Forward Jack Lankester was delighted to be back in action in the second of last night’s two 75-minute friendlies at Colchester having missed the whole of 2019/20 and the final months of the previous season due to injury.

The 20-year-old initially suffered a stress fracture of his back in January 2019 when he played his last competitive game, then broke down in pre-season last August in Germany and required surgery.

The Bury St Edmunds-based academy product played 62 minutes as the Blues beat the U’s 1-0 having won the opening fixture 4-0.

"It’s been a long time coming," Lankester told iFollow Ipswich. "The hard work that you put in when you’re injured - it all comes down to being back out there with the boys and playing some football.

"All of these games are physical because people have been waiting so long to play. It was high intensity but we were all expecting it so I think we done pretty well in dealing with it.

"I missed last season but that’s all in the past now. From day one I was with the boys and loved every minute of it. Working up to a game - I’ve missed that feeling.

"I think it definitely helped me coming back in the small groups in pre-season. It gave me a bit of extra time to get up to that level where other people were."

Photo: TWTD

Len_Brennan added 20:52 - Aug 19 If Lambert has decided to go with, & sticks with, the 4-3-3 system for the season ahead, Jack Lankester is going to be a very important player for us; & if he's as good as we thought he was going to be before the injury, he is set to rip some League 1 defences asunder over the coming months. Not to be putting the lad under any pressure of course.
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KiwiTractor added 21:05 - Aug 19 Could be a very big player for us this season is he stays fit.
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cat added 21:11 - Aug 19 Yeah quality flair player, will be an important link between the middle and up top. Him and Bish will be big players this season if they stay fit.
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PortmanTerrorist added 06:51 - Aug 20 Yet another kid with injuries to overcome who is going to change the Club's fortunes. It's never really worked out over past 15 years with the only player seeming to reach his potential bring Downes..... though could argue Luton made him. And he couldn't do it on his own I love the enthusiasm on here (for a change) and completely agree the lad looked a real talent before he broke down, but the team needs rethinking to escape from the spiral downward we are in. We all agree we have the players, but time will tell if we are genuinely better than the deserved 11th of last season.....only 30 poorer Clubs in the land guys.

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Freddies_Ears added 10:19 - Aug 20 He played very well v ColU on Tuesday, ran out of steam, as you'd expect, but was quick, positive and not afraid to put in a tackle. Don't expect him to play every game, but he could make a real difference.
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