Ipswich Town fans may have seen the last of Ryan Fraser
Ryan Fraser being tended to by club physio Matt Byard on the sideline at the end of the QPR match
Ipswich Town supporters may have seen the last of impressive Bournemouth loanee Ryan Fraser.
The Scottish Under-21 international suffered a hamstring injury in the latter stages of the 1-0 defeat at QPR in January and has been undergoing his rehab back with his parent club Bournemouth.
“I don’t think there’s any chance (of him returning) actually,” McCarthy said. “He’s had a setback and if I was his manager I wouldn’t be encouraging to rush back here given he will probably be valuable for them next season.
“I don’t think Eddie (Howe) is stopping him in any shape or form, so don’t anybody think that. He was very gracious with us in loaning us him. We got Brett (Pitman) too, we had a really good deal and he’s helped us all the time.
“But if I was him I’d want to make sure that my player was fit for me for the start of next season. If Ryan came here and got injured again, he’d be in (for treatment) all pre-season, he’d have no rest time and he’d be getting fit.”
Asked if there was absolutely no chance of returning to Town next season, McCarthy said: “I haven’t broached it with Eddie Howe but he sent him out to get some experience and to play and to do the things that he’s done with us in this league.
“They were watching him and they were delighted with him, so I don’t envisage that he’ll come back here.”
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Meanwhile, speaking ahead of Saturday’s visit of Brentford, McCarthy confirmed that striker Daryl Murphy remains sidelined with the calf tear he suffered while away on international duty with the Republic of Ireland.
“It’s looking more like Sheffield Wednesday, he’s not fit for this weekend,” said McCarthy.
“He had a scan at the start of the injury, he had a little tear, a little nick in it so I always said he was going to miss these three games which were coming thick and fast, and there’s been no surprises there.
“Other than that, there are just little bumps and bruises but all the squad from Tuesday are fit.”
The Blues boss added that David McGoldrick and Teddy Bishop will have benefited from their run-outs on Tuesday night but aren’t yet ready to start. Asked if he might freshen his team up, he said: “Yes. There is a good chance of a few different faces.”
