Blues boss Kieran McKenna says being nominated for the FAI’s Senior Men's International Player of the Year award is a big boost for winger Chiedozie Ogbene, who is expected to miss the rest of the season having undergone surgery on a torn achilles earlier this month.

Irish international Ogbene, who joined Town from Luton in the summer, suffered the injury in the build-up to the Blues’ second goal at Brentford a fortnight ago.

“Hopefully it's a big boost for him,” McKenna said regarding the nomination with Southampton keeper Gavin Bazunu and Brighton striker Evan Ferguson the other contenders.

“He's in a big boot and I'm sure reading plenty of books and watching plenty of Netflix. A bit of good news for him. Hopefully he wins the award.

“But whether he does or not, it signifies how well he did for Ireland last year. And, to be honest, it signifies what a loss he's going to be for us. 

“You can probably look at the likes of Tottenham away, where the pace that Chieo brings can hurt any opposition and can hurt teams who leave space in behind. It's probably the exact profile of game why we wanted to bring him to the football club. 

“Unfortunately, this season we're not going to see the best of him, that’s for sure. But he's here for a few years after that and hopefully we will see the best of him when he makes the full recovery that we're sure he will.”

Photo: ANTTI AIMO-KOIVISTO/LEHTIKUVA/Sipa USA

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