This evening's opponents Burnley have just 15 players making the trip from Lancashire to Portman Road - and included in that number are players who until yesterday were in bed with a flu bug which has hit Turf Moor in epidemic proportions.

Manager Stan Ternent explained the situation: "The squad's stretched big style at the moment. There's a bit of a flu bug. Mo Kamara's had that sickness, Gareth Farrelly had it, but he's started training again, and Luke Chadwick's off with it, in bed ill.

"There's a few of them, Tony Grant as well.
Chaddy and Mo arent training, so well have to wait and see."

Despite this, both Chadwick and Grant are understood to be part of the squad which is travelling to Ipswich today for the game.

In addition to all the illness victims David May is suspended and Mark McGregor and Alan Moore are long-term injuries. Loanee Andy Todd has returned to Blackburn.

Ternent seems surprisingly accepting of the crisis which has hit his club: "You get injuries and suspensions, you don't know where they're going to come from, but you get a bug just the same as you can get a kick or a strain.

"Over the course of a season, it's going to happen. But we'll certainly get 11 out and have a good go at it."

The Clarets will be unable to fill their bench with the full complement of 16 even if the walking wounded fail to make it, although Ternent has named only three subs on a number of occasions this season even prior to the current predicament.

Burnley squad: Brian Jensen, Lee Roche, Paul Weller, Graham Branch, Robbie Blake, Ian Moore, Tony Grant, Dean West, Gareth Farrelly, Delroy Facey, Richard Chaplow, Matt O'Neill and Joel Pilkington.

Photo: Action Images

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