Town boss Kieran McKenna admits the Blues are in a “difficult spot” regarding player availability ahead of Saturday’s game at Newcastle with up to 10 players potentially sidelined.

Aro Muric, Wes Burns, Chieo Ogbene, Sammie Szmodics and Jaden Philogene are all long-term absentees but with a number of other players having picked up fitness issues more recently.

“We’re in a challenging spot in terms of availability, to be honest,” McKenna said. “I’m not going to go through every single one because I’d probably be naming the fit players that we have left to Newcastle, which would be naming our team.

“We’re in a really difficult spot in terms of availability and we’re working really hard to get a team and a squad together that can go there and be as competitive as we can be.

“We’re still going to be waiting on a few right until tomorrow and we’ll try and make the right decisions and hopefully we’ll have enough to be competitive.”

Conor Townsend missed last week’s home game with Arsenal due to a hamstring injury and will miss out again, while McKenna says a decision will be made on how much involvement Liam Delap, who has come off the bench in the last two matches due to a rib problem, can have against the Magpies.

“Conor’s not fit, so he’s unavailable,” McKenna continued. “Liam, a decision to be made. He’s better again this week, so we’ll see what’s appropriate.”

The Blues boss confirmed that Kalvin Phillips (achilles) and Nathan Broadhead (thigh) both remain unavailable but McKenna wouldn’t be pushed any further when quizzed on Omari Hutchinson (hamstring).

In addition to the injuries, Leif Davis misses out on a game at St James’ Park against the team he supported as a boy and McKenna says the left-back is unsurprisingly gutted.

“He is, but it is what it is,” he said. “He’s still a young player, young in his career, so his determination will be, like the rest of the boys, to make sure that this isn’t the last time that Ipswich are going to St James’ in a league game. That will be the focus.

“But he’s disappointed to miss three games, he wants to help the team and we could do with him, so that’s going to be a challenge.”

McKenna included 19-year-old left-back Somto Boniface, a January signing from Chelsea, on the bench against the Gunners and although a debut from the start seems unlikely, the Londoner again looks set to be in the squad, perhaps alongside other U21s regulars with forward Tommy Taylor having been an unused sub for the FA Cup tie at Nottingham Forest.

“You always want to give those opportunities when they’re there and when they’re earned, so it was nice in one way to have Somto available,” McKenna continued.

“Of course, you don’t want to see any of the senior players miss out and it’s still important to respect the fact that every Premier League appearance is important to this group of players and it would be unfair or inappropriate to give out appearances without them having been earned.

“But Somto is a very good young player, he’s not been with us at the football club for too long, but he’s made a really good impression. Fitted into that group well, has done well in training, so you’re happy to give those opportunities when they arise.

“In terms of opportunities for players going forward, as is the case at most clubs, you’re most ready players to step into the first team are usually on loan if they’re not with your first-team group already.

“We’ve got some good players out on loan who will come back into the reckoning in pre-season and come and have another look with the first-team squad and we’ll make decisions who are right around them and the likelihood is that a lot of the boys who are doing well in the U21s now will look to take their next steps and that will usually be a loan move. There are always exceptions to that, but that’s usually the case.

“Where the squad is at the moment, there will be young players involved from the academy at the weekend and possibly in the next few weeks, and that’s good experience for them.”

Photo: Alfie Cosgrove/News Images/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

MaySixth added 15:22 - Apr 24 5-0 incoming
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trevski_s added 15:51 - Apr 24 Gutting for all those injured coming into the end of season run but we have a good squad depth and lots who can play multiple positions. Can see Greaves going in at LB with Cam and O'Shea CB and Axel RB. Be great if Boniface gets a run out too even if only the last 10-15 minutes as I can see him being included next season
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EuanTown added 15:53 - Apr 24 We are fukered
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Gforce added 16:06 - Apr 24 Burgess at left back could be a blessing, it'll give us extra height for all those corners we'll be up against !
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RobITFC added 16:09 - Apr 24 Probably go and win :)
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OldFart71 added 16:11 - Apr 24 It's funny how players are always fit if a team is doing well, but injured when they are not. Yes I know we have a few long term, but the short termers seem to be stacking up. Is this a ploy to keep certain players out of the spotlight, to try different things and players such as Phillips who won't be here next season to say thanks, but no thanks for what remains of our time in the Premier League.

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blues1 added 16:12 - Apr 24 GForce. Think it's more likely Greaves will go into lb and burgess at cb. Tho whoever plays there is gonna have their work cut out with the speed of Murphy.
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Northstandveteran added 16:12 - Apr 24 That's the spirit Rob.
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BotesdaleBlue added 16:14 - Apr 24 If we had a real, or even an above average chance of staying up, this news would be far, far more serious. As it is, we'll just have to make the best of things and I trust KMk to do just that, even if we loose, which is highly likely. On a more general issue, I do hope MKm can find the opportunity before the season ends, to give one or more of our youngsters a debut. It's something as supporters we love to see, but there has been virtually nobody able to step up for such a very long time it seems. Let's hope the Cat1 Academy status, once gained, will help us to achieve this significant step forward.

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ArnieM added 16:48 - Apr 24 Why are so many of our players injured? Lots of hamstring injuries among them too. Eye balls out intense training sessions probably not helping matters either. A re think on that for next season hopefully.
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slade1 added 16:51 - Apr 24 Get Harry back
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chrismadrid added 16:52 - Apr 24 Hope McKenna can name a decent team for Saturday...good decent team so we need to be at our best...more players out than it seems
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BobbyBell added 17:20 - Apr 24 From day one in the Prem KM made it clear that our players would have to incredibly fit and run themselves into the ground to compete at this level. Injuries are always going to be an issue with such intensity but I'd rather see injuries than players not giving it their maximum week in week out.
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flykickingbybgunn added 17:37 - Apr 24 Then I hope he gives the youngsters a chance. We are on a hiding to nothing. Let them give it a go.
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armchaircritic59 added 17:58 - Apr 24 Like the rest of the games left this season, this is basically a free hit, though of course we don't want another few more " stuffings " if they can be avoided. I say give the likes of Boniface a start, you find out a lot about youngsters by throwing them in, whatever the opposition. Do they want and show for the ball, or do they hide? One thing I know for sure, if I was Samto, I'd be almost biting off KM's arm to play me, wouldn't matter whether it was Newcastle or Newport!

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tetchris added 23:03 - Apr 24 I think if we can finish above Leicester and be the highest placed promoted team I think that’s the only positive too this season
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Eeyore added 16:10 - Apr 25 We have plenty of defenders. And is Godfrey still around? Hopefully Morsy, Cajuste and Taylor are OK. Looks like Chaplin is back? Encisco is fit? Hirst up front with Clarke on one wing. Have to play Johnson on the other - he is better there than in defence, though not quite Prem standard. Taylor will have to come on for Enciso/ Chaplin. Luongo on for Cajuste, Delap on for Hirst. Certainly need a couple of the academy players on the bench but I dont see them coming on. Perhaps one of them to come on for Clarke to do a defensive job and hold on to our 1-0 lead for the last few minutes !

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Bert added 18:21 - Apr 25 We have not had an effective right hand side all season because of injuries and that has hurt us. That said, we did have a surplus of No.10s but even that has been depleted. Would we have stayed up with everyone fit ? Probably not but we would have been a tougher test for some teams in the second half of the season. At the half way point I honestly thought that we would kick on and get the points needed but alas that was not to be.

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