Alan Judge is the latest player to have joined a growing Ipswich Town injury list. ANDY WARREN looks at when the Blues’ sidelined stars are due to return.
Alan Judge – hamstring, return imminent
The latest man to enter the Blues’ injury room will hopefully not be in there too long.
The Irishman suffered a hamstring injury during last week’s loss to Fulham, ruling him out of the win at Bristol Rovers, but Paul Lambert hopes his creative midfielder will be back in time for the game with Rochdale.
“He picked it up and Wednesday night and it was a risk to play him (at Bristol Rovers), and that was a blow because he’s been doing really, really well, Judgey,” Lambert said.
“Hopefully next week he’ll be ok. It’s his hamstring but it’s not serious, hopefully it’s not too bad.”
Kane Vincent-Young - Achilles, no return date
If there’s one player on this list who could bring a new dimension to the Town side, when he finally gets on the field, it’s Kane Vincent-Young.
He’s only played nine games for the Blues but they were enough to show us just how big a player he can be, especially when it comes to being an attacking threat from right-back.
His absence for much of last season due to a groin injury certainly contributed to the wheels falling off Town’s promotion bid, with another injury absence at the start of this season far from ideal.
At one stage Lambert said he was hopeful the former Colchester man could have been back in training prior to the game with Bristol Rovers, but he was a little less positive when speaking prior to the visit to the Memorial Stadium.
“I don’t know, his Achilles is still giving him problems, so I don’t know,” Lambert said.
Lambert’s previously described the injury as ‘dangerous’ and has made it clear they will in no way rush his return. Luke Chambers’ impressive form at right-back has been an effective sticking plaster, even if they bring very different attributes to the table.
Luke Woolfenden – groin, uncertain
The young centre-half is sidelined with a groin problem picked up in training, which has kept him out since before the League One opener against Wigan Athletic.
Lambert has said his injury is nothing too major but it was significant enough for him to be ruled out of the Rovers game well before the Blues travelled to Bristol.
Does the fact that Town have gone out and signed another centre-back in Mark McGuinness suggest that Woolfednden will be out longer than first suggested? We’ll see.
Kayden Jackson – groin, back in training
We haven’t seen the lightening-quick striker since the pre-season loss at Tottenham, with a groin injury keeping him out during a time when he’s been the subject of transfer speculation.
But there’s every chance he could be back in the squad for the weekend visit of Rochdale, following his return to training at the end of last week.
“It’s great because the more bodies we have back the better, the competition’s there for everybody to see,” Lambert said.
“He trained on Friday and hopefully there’s no reaction and he gets a good week under his belt.”
Cole Skuse – knee, return imminent
Like Jackson, we haven’t seen Skuse since the loss at Tottenham as he deals with a knee injury.
Assistant manager Stuart Taylor said recently: “Cole had a knee injury before the Cambridge game, he just had a little slip and tweaked his knee. He’s just nursing that back and hopefully he’ll be back pretty soon.”
It was noted last week that Skuse had been ‘finding things a bit difficult’ in his comeback but he’s expected to be back sooner rather than later.
Aaron Drinan - thigh, two months
The news that the young Irishman will be out until late November was a cruel blow, at a time when he’s forced his way into the first team picture after years in the wilderness.
He’d made the starting spot his own before suffering a thigh injury which forced him out of the Wigan win at the break, with the knock expected to sideline him briefly. Sadly it was much more sinister and he faces around two-months out. “Aaron will be missed for a couple of months, especially when he’s done that well for us,” Lambert said.
“Nobody expected him to come in as quick as what he’s done and he’s playing really well for us, so you just have to get on with it.
Corrie Ndaba – dead leg, return imminent
Just like Drinan, Ndaba has had to wait for a first-team debut and impressed once it finally came, late in the day in the cup clash with Bristol Rovers.
He started against Arsenal’s Under 21s a few days later and was one of the best players on the pitch, before leaving late on after suffering what appeared at the time to be a nasty head injury.
Thankfully it was only a dead leg, but it was a pretty severe one and he’s yet to return. He shouldn’t be far away, though.
Tristan Nydam – broken ankle, back next month
It’s been more than a year since the midfielder suffered a nasty broken ankle during a pre-season game at Notts County, which has kept him out ever since.
He’s been back doing some fitness work at Town’s training base and is hopeful of a return next month in the Under 23s.
“It’s been a tough time but I’ve tried to stay positive,” he said recently.
Ben Morris – knee ligament, out for season
What a cruel two years it’s been for the promising young striker.
He first suffered a knee ligament injury in February 2019 and, less than eight months after he had returned from the initial problem, he suffered another in training last month.
He’s likely to be out for the entire season, with plenty of tough days ahead.
“He’s learning early that football can kick you,” Town coach Matt Gill said. “I think what you ask from all young players is to have that psychological stamina and his is getting tested massively at the moment.”
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