Town boss Kieran McKenna has revealed left-back Conor Townsend is facing a long spell on the sidelines with an ACL injury suffered at Auxerre last week, while Leif Davis and Jaden Philogene remain doubts for Friday’s season opener at Birmingham City.

Townsend collapsed to the pitch with no one near him in obvious agony during the friendly last weekend and had a brace on his leg and was walking on crutches after the match.

McKenna confirmed that the former Scunthorpe and West Brom man has had bad news and will require an op.

Davis missed that game with a hip problem, while Philogene landed awkwardly on his ankle in the second half.

“Mixed, really,” McKenna said when asked about the injury situation. “Conor Townsend was a big shame last weekend. Conor’s got an ACL injury, so he’s seeing a surgeon this week and we’ll get the operation at the earliest opportunity.

“A big, big blow for Conor as the person and the professional that he is and a big blow for us as well with what we believed he would give us this season in the left-back position.

“And Jaden and Leif still, as it stands, struggling, to be honest. Both will be assessed, we’ll give them both right to the last minute if we can because both are important players, who had good pre-seasons up until that point. Both are at this point struggling for certainly the next game.”

Asked whether he will look to replace Townsend via a new signing, McKenna added: “It’s certainly something that we have to assess. It’s a pretty new situation so one that we weren’t hoping for, we were hoping that with Leif and Conor we’d be really strong in that department.

“The positives are that we have an outstanding left-back in the building and we have two right-backs in terms of Ashley [Young] and Ben Johnson, who have both played left-back in their careers.

“That gives us some options there, but it’s certainly something we’re reviewing at the moment to see if it’s an area that we want or we need to add to.”

In addition to Townsend and Davis being sidelined with injuries, youngster Somto Boniface, who was on the bench on a number of occasions at the end of last season, has also missed pre-season with the U21s due to a knee problem.

Photo: TWTD

FreddySteady added 14:50 - Aug 6 Yikes. Not good news at all.
2

John_Grose added 14:51 - Aug 6 Really big blow this. Conor would have really been challenging Leif for a starting berth and looked a really solid defender. We might have get someone signed on short term contract to provide cover.
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FrimleyBlue added 14:53 - Aug 6 oh dear god johnson at left back, when he gets used to playing right back, then maybe try him there
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ashp19 added 14:58 - Aug 6 Shame for Conor - wish him a speedy recovery! Wouldn't want any other team in place to work out a solution to this in the coming weeks.
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Benji1611 added 15:09 - Aug 6 Ashley Young in at left back, Johnson on the right, Ogbene and Clarke on the wings and hopefully Hutchinson will be in the frame of mind to come on. It's all good gang, we don't like to make it easy for ourselves!
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TomCruise added 15:09 - Aug 6 What a shame cresswell already signed for stoke!
3

paulcooperisgod added 15:14 - Aug 6 Brandon Williams.....wont cost a thing and we already know he can do a job! Get it done we've nothing to lose
6

Marinersnose added 15:14 - Aug 6 Very sad news for Connor Townsend with probably 10 months on the sidelines maybe a little less . Unfortunately we are starting the season with several injuries and this curse from last season just doesn’t seem to let up. I still think we need a backup for Hirst as with his injury record he’s unlikely to play every game. Al Hamadi can do a job but we really need another 9. We have several options available for the 10 all of which can get goals.

1

TimmyH added 15:15 - Aug 6 Jeez! was really looking forward to seeing Townsend at left back at this level (would have bossed it). As for Philogene...at least not as bad as first thought, he needs a good start to the season.
1

Fabianski added 15:18 - Aug 6 Can Kipre play as a left sided full back? Pace and power over Young’s guile and experience for the season opener…
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TownSupporter added 15:18 - Aug 6 Give Boniface his chance. Perfect game against a team that has just been promoted.
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Gforce added 15:23 - Aug 6 It's a real shame for Conor,as that injury will probably keep him out until Feb/Mar. We'll definitely have to replace him,it's a long season and the perfect replacement would be Ben Chilwell,if we could persuade him and afford his wages.
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guentchev123 added 15:27 - Aug 6 Really bad news as Conor has shown himself excellent competition at LB. The only good thing is it’s happened with the Transfer Window still open for a few weeks and so gives us the chance to get someone in. Good news that Philogene’s injury is not serious. It’s amazing how quickly things can change with injuries and shows why a big squad of quality players is so important for the grind of a championship season. The one thing that I don’t understand is years ago, there never seemed to be this amount of injuries. Bobby Robson’s glory team of the early eighties had the starting 11 plus a couple of others and they did a whole season of more league games, FA cup games (and replays) 2 legged league cup games, 2 legged UEFA games and all on bad pitches with tackles from behind allowed ! It must be the speed that players are running at these days, which is obviously much faster. It means any contact, twist or turn is much more likely to cause an injury.

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jas0999 added 15:32 - Aug 6 Really sad news for CT. I’ve been very impressed with him. Wishing him a speedy recovery, but sounds very much like he won’t be playing much, if at all, this season. Sounds more promising re LD and JP. Clearly two huge players for us this season. Wouldn’t be surprised if both make at least the bench on Friday.
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TownSupporter added 15:32 - Aug 6 Chilwell has a worse injury record than our squad combined. He would not be worth getting in.
2

TownSupporter added 15:33 - Aug 6 Chilwell has a worse injury record than our squad combined. He would not be worth getting in.
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tetchris added 15:52 - Aug 6 I think Cameron Humphries could play there or Ashley Young but I think MCK will look to sign a player on loan in that position.
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blues1 added 15:57 - Aug 6 Frimleyblue. Seasons not even started and we have a so called fan slating a player. No, he didnt start last season well, but was much improved towards end of the season, and played well against charlton last week. If all ur gonna do is scapegoat a player, dont bother going to games. Need all the fans fully behind the team. Not slagging players off every time they make a mistake.

1

Sensiblue added 16:32 - Aug 6 Ash Young has played in a world cup at left back so seems like the obvious move until Leif is ready. Fullback options are a little thin going into it with Clark out long term too. Maybe Williams in as he can cover both sides or one of our Loan spots will have to be utilised until January when we can see where we're at. Gutted for both Connor and Harry, and wish them well with their recovery.

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darkhorse28 added 16:41 - Aug 6 Would walk into any team at this level, v solid tactically, great positioning, mikes ahead of Leif on those metrics. Will be a big loss, could maybe have done a job at CDM too.., we need a player for sure or maybe Greaves as cover if Wolf stays (not sure he will).
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ArnieM added 17:14 - Aug 6 And so our "long term out," injuries curse continues. Do we ever get a simple calf pull or an ankle sprain anymore at this club?
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armchaircritic59 added 18:48 - Aug 6 ArnieM, I think someone at the club must have run over a black cat. And I don't mean Marc Guiu who I believed has finally cemented a loan deal at Sunderland!
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Gforce added 19:27 - Aug 6 I think Brandon Williams has already signed for Hull ?
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DA22A added 22:09 - Aug 6 Shame Boniface is injured. Conor will miss the season so we’ll need to bring in another LWB. We do have players that can cover, including Humphries. But I’d prefer to see us sign a left footed player for that position.
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Facefacts added 22:52 - Aug 6 We need backroom people working on replacements for injured and wantaway players so that every potential situation is covered. Doesn't sound like we have that in place. 10 FTEs throughout every transfer window, temporary employment. Just doesn't sound professional enough.
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