Town boss Kieran McKenna says his squad has no new significant injuries going into Saturday’s trip to fellow strugglers Wolves, but with some illness in the camp and Kalvin Phillips and Ben Johnson still not quite fully fit after their knocks.

Phillips rolled his ankle after the Leicester match but has been an unused sub for the last two matches, while Johnson returned to the XI and played the full 90 minutes against AFC Bournemouth on Sunday.

“No, nothing very, very significant,” McKenna said when asked whether there were any new fitness issues in his squad. “We’ve still got a few managing injuries, Kalvin and Ben being two, who are still sort of in between being injured and being back to 100 per cent.

“We’ve got our long-term injuries and we have one or two illnesses in the camp. There seems to be quite a lot of it in the country at the moment, so probably up and down the country probably all squads have got one or two who are not feeling 100 per cent, and we’re certainly in that situation.”

Town have had 16 of their first-team squad unavailable at some point since the start of the season and McKenna admits it’s been far from ideal.

“No, it’s not,” he reflected. “I think it’s been a challenge, we’ve not been able to settle across a team. Certainly on our right side at the moment, we feel the loss of Axel [Tuanzebe] and Chieo [Ogbene], it’s such an important side of the team for us.

“The physicality that those two bring in the most physical league in the world, in the most physical month in the most physical league in the world, we feel their loss at the moment. And for Axel to have been out twice.

“Other than that we’ve had some disruption. But it is what it is, we focus on the players that we’ve got. Again, players who come into the team generally come in and do well in this environment, I think. Jack Taylor was a good example of it last week, even the ability to play 80-plus minutes as he did is a good reflection of the work that goes on.

“But it’s not something we’re happy with. We’d like to have had better availability over the course of the season. But we’re trying to deal with that as best we can and adapt as best we can and I think in general the players are doing a pretty good job of that.”

Reiterating comments he made in midweek regarding his use of subs, he says his bench isn’t going to look like an established Premier League side like Bournemouth's from an attacking perspective even if the likes of George Hirst and Ogbene were fit.

“Even with everybody fit, as I said after the game, it’s not something I'm particularly fussed on because I believe in our players, but our substitutes’ bench wouldn't look like Bournemouth’s substitute bench in terms of experience, Premier League experience, values, all those things,” he continued.

“But having lots of forwards available to rotate, especially in those positions, is really, really important for us. It was a big part of our success in the last couple of seasons.

“So we want to have a full quota of those as often as we can and we want to make those positions as strong as we can, and we tried to make them stronger in the summer window and we need to try and make them stronger in the January window again now because the relentlessness of the league.

“We've been in so many games that we've been in winning positions, we've been competitive in so many games and so many of our games are going to be competitive, if we do well as we have in those games, then they're very, very, very often going to be decided off the bench.

“So we need the starting XI to be as strong as we can and we need the bench to be as strong as we possibly can. So we're going to try and work towards it.”

Photo: TWTD

WaltonBlueNaze added 15:19 - Dec 12 I’m struggling to understand this injury with KP, 6 weeks he’s not played at all, but been on the bench? I wonder if the lack of playing minutes over the last 2 years has impacted his robustness and match fitness. When you compare his availability to Morsy it’s like night and day. I know we are only paying part of his wages but is he really committed to the cause?

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BerksBlue15 added 15:24 - Dec 12 @WaltonBlueNaze - maybe KP is a bit like Al Hamadi last year - he's "injured" and wouldn't be playing if it were the offseason, but it's a manageable enough ailment that he can still come off the bench if we need him, rather than completely ruled out like Tuanzebe or Ogbene. Just a thought and I could well be wrong.
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Fermi_Parradox added 15:35 - Dec 12 The KP situation is starting to remind me a bit of the Brandon Williams situation last season
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Suffolkboy added 16:08 - Dec 12 As to KP one can’t help but think that KM is being advisedly cautious ; certainly KP need to shoe us and the football world that he’s not lost his ability or capacity to play . For ITFC he’d be a significant presence —-BUT looks like he’s being ‘nursed’ . KM and MA remain totally focussed and united and together will steer us steadily in difficult circumstances . The physical demands of PL football were fully recognised and it’s a shame to find us so hampered . Belief and support will be crucial ! COYB

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Lightningboy added 16:22 - Dec 12 Think we need to stop wasting time (and money) on Phillips..nearly half the season gone and what exactly has he brought to the club?..his prem experience?..that was only 75 appearances at this level,not much for a 28 year old. Send him back in January & get somebody useful in...i'd rather give Cameron Humphreys or Marcus Harness the experience at this level.
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Tedray added 16:36 - Dec 12 Sadly some of our players seem very brittle and not very robust. Perhaps we should look for a different type of individual in January.Bournemouth were frightening in being able to bring on Brookes and (?) Billings together from the bench, such riches....we will fight them in the trenches, we will........
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Karlosfandangal added 16:48 - Dec 12 Cajuste is ahead of KP for me…….. think KP will be good from the bench but saying that Taylor seems a better bet after last week. Maybe send him back and go for some more experience Prem midfielder
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Karlosfandangal added 16:52 - Dec 12 League one players like Davis Chaplin Morsy Taylor seem more at home in the Prem than some of those we have who have player quite a bit of Prem football ie Johnson Phillips
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grow_our_own added 17:57 - Dec 12 Johnson is great with the ball at his feet, but he's got no pace. One-on-one, he's a liability. West Ham knew it and targeted him, as did Bournemouth (Samenya & Ouattara). All three of our right-backs have their qualities, but in Axel's absence, I'd start Clarke on current form.
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gosblue added 18:25 - Dec 12 I think we need a gaffer at the back. Who's in charge back there? In an ideal world, the keeper talks (or screams) to the CBs, each CB talks to his FB and CMs, each FB talks to his WB. The right side works relatively well when AT is playing. Without him we are such an inexperienced team. They are all good players but I think we need to recruit a leader at the back. Morsey is like a conductor in the middle of the Park which is why we are so good going forward but we could do with another Character like him at the back.

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