Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna issued mixed injury updates on attacking duo Sammie Szmodics and Conor Chaplin as this afternoon’s pre-match press conference.

Szmodics has missed the last five games with an ankle issue, while Chaplin (knee) has been unavailable for the last six with a knee problem.

Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s FA Cup fourth round tie at Championship club Coventry City, McKenna said:

“Sam Szmodics will be in the squad tomorrow – he’s trained today with the group. Conor Chaplin is not training yet.

“It’s good to have Sam back. He’s been an important figure with his goals, but also he’s a different type to the forwards we’ve had playing for the last couple of weeks. He’s also an older player for what has been a really young unit.”

Providing an update on Wes Burns, who suffered a bad knee injury in the 4-1 defeat at Liverpool last month, the Blues boss said: “He had surgery to repair his ACL and thankfully it all went well. There wasn’t too much damage to the other parts of the knee, so it was as positive as it could be.”0:05

Meanwhile, the Blues boss confirmed he will, once again, be making wholesale changes to his team for cup action.

“There will be changes in the team,” he said. “That’s how we’ve approached the cup competitions in the last few years and it’s been a really important part of our success.

“We’ve always tried to carry a deep squad where every player feels like they’re competing for minutes and are trusted to play minutes. When different players come into the team during the run-in it shows if they’ve felt valued throughout the season.

“You also know, with changes, that there’s a chance that maybe it won’t always be as fluent as it is with a settled side.

“In the last round the team showed how well we’re working behind the scenes as a group with the performance we were able to produce against lower league opposition (Bristol Rovers).

“The challenge is to do that again now against a really good Championship side. It’s a chance to show the strength and depth in our group.”

Potential line-up: Palmer; Godfrey, Woolfenden, Burgess, Townsend; Phillips, Taylor; Philogene, Szmodics, J.Clarke; Hirst.

Town boss Kieran McKenna says winger Wes Burns’s ACL surgery went well, Christian Walton is expected to be out for eight weeks, but Sammie Szmodics is back for Saturday’s fourth-round FA Cup tie at Coventry with a couple of other players facing checks.

Burns has been ruled out for the season with the injury he suffered at Liverpool but McKenna says the operation that the Wales international underwent earlier in the week went well.

“He had surgery,” McKenna said. “Thankfully all went well to repair his ACL. There wasn’t too much damage to the other parts of the knee, so it’s as positive as it could be.”0:00

“Sam Szmodics will be in the squad tomorrow, he’s trained today with the group,” he said. “Conor Chaplin’s not training yet.

“It’s good to have Sam back. He’s been an important figure with his goals but he’s a different type to the forwards we had playing last week or over the last couple of weeks, and also an older player in that unit as well, which was a really young unit last weekend.

“George Hirst is the senior figure in there and he’s in his mid-twenties. Nice to have Sam back and the different dynamic that he brings to that group.”

Regarding Walton, who strained his groin at Liverpool, McKenna added: “It’s looking at in and around eight weeks for the prognosis. Of course, for these things you have to monitor as you go along. Sometimes it can be a little bit quicker, sometimes a little bit longer.

“We’ll get him back as quickly as possible, but it’s that kind of rough timescale we’ve been given.”

In addition, the Blues boss says there are one or two doubts: “We’ve got one or two we’re getting checks on, nothing major, but we’ve got one or two with niggly injuries that we’re going to check on that there’s going to be a late decision on whether they’re going to be available for the game.”

Regarding U21s possibly being involved, he added: “Not impossible one, but we’ll checking on the availability of one or two of ours. We’ve got pretty good depth at the moment.

“There’s a possibility one might be involved but also a possibility that we’ll be travelling with a really good bill of health for the senior players and try and keep that group together.”

McKenna confirmed there would be the expected changes and wouldn’t commit on whether new keeper Alex Palmer would be handed his debut.

“We’ll make the decision on tomorrow, what we think is right for the team and the group and we’ll do that for every game,” he said.

Chiedozie Ogbene suffered an achilles tear at Brentford in October and is making progress but McKenna says is not expected to return this season.

“Progressing very well in terms of the rehab that he can [do] and has been good around the building,” he said. “But very unlikely to be involved this season as it stands.”

Photo: Matchday Images

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Since defeating relegation rivals Ipswich Town last time out, it’s been one step forward and two steps back for Southampton following frustrating news both within Ivan Juric’s squad and the transfer window.

Whilst survival may be still be a world away – 10 points to be exact – victory over Ipswich at least put Southampton on the right path towards attempting the impossible. And it looked as though they were about to follow three points up move with movement in the transfer window, only for their deal to sign Abakar Sylla to collapse in the dying embers of the winter window.

Forced to settle for the reinforcements that they had already welcomed, the Saints will be desperate to see Wellington, Joachim Kayi-Sanda, Rento Takaoka and Albert Gronbaek all leave their mark on Juric’s side.

The latter has already enjoyed a rare Premier League victory at St Mary’s, having started for the first time in his new side’s 2-1 win over Ipswich. But he won’t want to stop there even if the Saints will be forced to cope without one senior figure on the injury front yet again in the coming weeks.

As confirmed by Juric, Jack Stephens is facing another spell on the sidelines after only just making his return to the side from a lengthy month-long injury. The Saints boss stated that he is “not optimistic” about his captain’s setback in what is a frustrating blow for those at St Mary’s.

Left to cover for the experienced defender last time out was Joe Aribo, who filled in at centre-back from his usual role in midfield. Speaking to reporters, he reiterated his willingness to adjust if needed once again in the face of Stephens’ injury.

The former Rangers man said: “We are willing to do anything to get over the line. We have to fight together. If I’ve got to go into a position that I’m not familiar with, then I have to play there to the best of my ability. That’s what I was able to do today.”

Just when Stephens is back remains to be seen, but Juric’s lack of optimism is certainly not a good sign. The Southampton captain has endured a stop-start season, having missed four of the opening 10 Premier League games through suspension and then nine of the last 10 games through injury from the beginning of December into the new year.

His absence comes at a time when Southampton have needed him most too. The Saints have so far conceded 54 goals in just 24 Premier League games – one more than relegation rivals Leicester City and the most in England’s top flight. The argument could certainly be had that with Stephens, that record may have been less damaging.

For now though, Juric must cope without his senior defender once again and search for an internal solution. Whether that sees Aribo drop back once again will certainly be interesting to see in their FA Cup tie against Burnley this weekend.

Ipswich Town has submitted plans for a new car park near the Sir Alf Ramsey stand, part of which would be for staff and media personnel.

The club, with agents Boyer Planning, submitted the proposals to Ipswich Borough Council to use a space made empty after Staples and Better Gym left the site in May 2023.

The plans for the 168-space car park have been drawn up following talks with the nearby Travelodge, which will use 17 spaces and have a separate entry.

Of the rest, 113 would be available for long-stay public use, including 6 disabled parking bays.

The club’s staff, outside media personnel and broadcasters would have access to 55 spaces in the car park.The club announced plans for this car park last December (Image: Hoopers.)

The club is asking for permission to use this car park for seven years, which can be extended with an application later.

Additionally, parking spaces are going to be lost on Portman Road, as the council plans to develop a new swimming pool in the area.

In a statement to the council, Boyer Planning wrote: “Whilst Local Plan policies would resist additional long stay car parking capacity in this location, it is clear that this proposal would not result in any net additional spaces.

“Rather, it will provide replacement capacity for spaces that will be temporarily lost whilst land to the east of Portman Road is being redeveloped.”

Work is expected to begin later this year, should the application be approved.The land has been vacant since Staples and Better Gym were demolished in May 2023 (Image: Shikhar Talwar)

As part of the work, the temporary hoardings that are currently in place will be removed.

The Sir Alf Ramsey Stand, originally known as the South Stand, was rebuilt in the early 2000s following the club’s promotion to the Premier League and qualification for the UEFA Cup after a fifth-place finish in 2001.

In 2012, it was renamed after the legendary Ipswich and England manager who led the club to the third division title in 1957, second division title in 1961 and first division title in 1962.

Ipswich Town are due to receive a £100k payment from Northern Irish club Coleraine for youngster Cameron Stewart.

The Blues signed the defender from Linfield in 2019, where he played for the Under-21s in between loan spells at Crusaders and Cove Rangers.

Stewart left Town at the end of his contract last season, joining Coleraine. However, Ipswich are set to receive training compensation for the 21-year-old, which is paid by the new club to the clubs that trained the player between the ages 12 and 21. This is called the ‘training period’.

The obligation to pay training compensation occurs if one of the following two conditions are met:

1) When a player signs his first contract as a professional, and

2) Each time a professional is transferred internationally until the end of the season of his 23rd birthday.

Per EA Sports Law, “The basic principle is that the new club must pay training compensation whenever a player signs his first professional contract and each time the player transfers between clubs of two different national associations.

Clubs can agree to waive the training compensation, but this has to be agreed before the player is signed by his new club.

Otherwise, the training fee is automatically triggered by FIFA, who will ensure that a payment is made in one instalment before the player’s 23rd birthday, as written in their regulations in RSTP art. 20 and annexe 4.

The only other exception is for transfers that take place within the EU or EEA, where the rules state “that no compensation is payable if the former club does not offer the player a new contract and cannot justify why it should still be entitled to compensation”. This, of course, doesn’t count for Ipswich and Coleraine due to Brexit.

As a result, Town are set to receive £100k from the Bannsiders, as first reported by the Belfast Telegraph, who understand that it will be settled by the 30-day deadline set by FIFA.

Stewart has featured 19 times for Coleraine this season, scoring twice. His side sit eighth in the NIFL table.

Ipswich Town’s return to the Premier League after 22 years has not gone quite according to plan with the club sitting in 19th place on the league table after 24 games. However, star striker Liam Delap has received praise from fans and critics alike for his performances this campaign.

The Manchester City academy graduate made the switch to Ipswich last summer for a reported fee of £20 million including add-ons. He has more than justified the sum with his contributions, scoring nine goals in 23 appearances in the league so far.

The Ipswich ace has attracted serious attention from the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham, and Arsenal with his displays this season, according to BBC. All three clubs have missed a clinical forward up front this campaign, and view Delap as the answer to their problems.

Delap chose to move to Ipswich Town this summer as he felt it was the perfect place for him to get playing time and develop as a player despite interest from other clubs.

“I spoke to [manager] Kieran McKenna and that put my head straight. I wanted to come and play. I didn’t want to go somewhere I didn’t feel I’d play and develop. I felt here gave me best chance to develop and become a better player. You have a gut feeling and have to trust your judgement,” said the striker in conversation with BBC Football Focus.

While Delap is only 22 years old and still has a lot of development to do, if Ipswich Town were to be relegated by the end of the season, it will be unlikely that they could hold on to him with so many top clubs lurking.

Manchester City are understood to have a buy-back clause for Delap alongside a 20 per cent sell-on if he moves to another club.

With his impressive performances, Delap won’t just be attracting interest from other clubs, but also England gaffer Thomas Tuchel. The new Three Lions boss will be naming his first squad in the next month for the World Cup qualifier double header against Albania and Latvia.

While his father and ex-Stoke City player Rory Delap is a Republic of Ireland citizen, Liam has played for England at the youth level in the past and has earlier voiced his dream of representing them at a senior level.

“When I set out I always wanted to play in the Premier League and represent my country. It’s an honour to play for your country. I just let the football do the talking. If it comes, it comes, and if it doesn’t I just keep working,” remarked Delap.

As first reported by the Daily Telegraph, the Blues have reached an agreement for the 18-year-old who will now undergo a medical.

The EADT and Ipswich Star understands that the England Under-18 international will join as a youth team player rather than going straight into the first team squad.

Town currently have Leif Davis and Conor Townsend as senior left-back options.

The January transfer window shuts at 11pm tonight.

Ipswich Town could add two more senior players to their squad if they choose to deregister long-term injury victims Chiedozie Ogbene and Wes Burns for the remainder of the campaign.

The club cannot sign any more domestic loan players as they are the two-man max (Kalvin Phillips and Julio Enciso).

Blues boss Kieran McKenna reiterated, after Saturday’s disappointing 2-1 home defeat to rock-bottom Southampton, that he thinks it’s going to be a quiet day on the ins and outs front.0:00