IPSWICH TOWN: Luca Civelli could have played his last game for the Blues.

The 24-year-old Argentinean left-sided midfielder is still struggling to come to terms with the serious knee injury he suffered in March 2009.

So says his manager Roy Keane, who had high hopes of having Civelli playing a big part this season after missing the whole of the 2009/10 campaign.

“We can’t get our hopes up over Luca,” said Keane.

“God knows when he’ll be ready.

“It’s up to the player and it’s not a knee problem now, but a head one.

“He’s thinking too much and he’s got he’s got to get himself right – it’s all in the head.”

Civelli went off in a pre-season friendly against Leiston after taking a knock and has not made the progress that was originally hoped for.

He’s obviously frustrating Keane, and unless the player gets himself fit soon he could find himself out in the cold – with his contract ending next summer.

It is no easy task to get full confidence back after a major career threatening injury, and this is the challenge Keane is giving to Civelli.

Keane has confirmed that Mark Kennedy, Damien Delaney and Connor Wickham are still three or four weeks away from fitness and that with a lack of players coming in he was depending on youngsters completing his squad.

“I’m taking nothing away from the players that we’ve got left,” added Keane.

“With more experience we could easily have won the game against Burnley last week. We needed to be more street wise and get you get that with experience.

“To ask a youngster like Luke Hyam to play three games in a week is too much – he is likely to pay for it later in his career.

“A manager has a responsibility to look after young players, and not put added pressure on them.

“Connor Wickham and Luke Hyam are great lads, but you cannot depend on a 17-year-old – like Connor – to score the goals that will take you forward.

“You can’t throw them in with the aid of painkillers like you can 33-year-olds.

“They are still experiencing growing pains.

“But in our current state no young player is leaving this club on loan. We’ve had interest, but we need them here.”