Striker Ellis Harrison will make his return to action this afternoon when Ipswich Town’s Under 23s visit Millwall (1.30pm).

East Anglian Daily Times: Harrison has been out of action since September. Photo: Steve WallerHarrison has been out of action since September. Photo: Steve Waller (Image: © Copyright Stephen Waller)

The Welsh forward has been out since the end of September, when he suffered an ankle injury in training, robbing former Blues boss Paul Hurst of a physical presence in attack soon after he had lost Jon Walters to a loan-ending Achilles problem.

In Harrison’s absence, Kayden Jackson and Freddie Sears were left to shoulder the striking burden prior to the arrival of Paul Lambert, who quickly opted to use winger Jordan Roberts as a makeshift striker to good effect during his first three games in charge.

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But Harrison’s return will be a major boost to Lambert, with the Blues boss revealing last weekend that the former Bristol Rovers man is not for from being available to him.

“Ellis has actually started back training, which is great,” Lambert said prior to the game with West Brom.

“He’s a little bit short of match fitness but he’s a strong player, a strong centre forward, a little bit short of match fitness but doing really well.”

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Harrison will take a vital step today, as he turns out for Gerard Nash’s side against the Lions while Aaron Drinan, Myles Kenlock and Ben Folami will also be involved.

The Under 23s are unbeaten since August, beating Crystal Palace 5-2 in their previous outing.