Lee Evans has avoided surgery on his troublesome knee injury but still faces several weeks on the sidelines.

The Ipswich midfielder limped off the pitch in the closing stages of the Blues’ victory over Burton on Saturday, ruling him out of Tuesday night’s draw with Cheltenham and beyond.

After seeing specialists this week it’s been confirmed Evans does not require an operation, meaning he is out for a matter of weeks, rather than months, but Town boss Kieran McKenna is not able to put a date on his return at this stage.

“He’s seen the specialist during the week and thankfully he doesn’t need surgery, so it’s a matter of weeks not months,” McKenna said.

“We’ve not put an exact date on his return. “We’ll see how he recovers over the next week or so.

“We don’t have any other major issues after Tuesday, so everybody else is fighting to get fit and make their way onto the bus for Morecambe.”

Evans’ absence saw Tom Carroll come into the side in his place on Tuesday evening, with Tyreeq Bakinson and Idris El Mizouni the other possible replacements heading into this weekend’s clash with Morecambe.

Speaking after Tuesday night’s draw, McKenna admitted fatigue in some areas of the pitch may have played a part as the Blues dropped points at home.

The Town boss believes the high-intensity deployed in the first half, an increased physical approach and the usual wear and tear of the season all played a part.

“I think it’s a little bit of both. We put a lot of energy into the first half and had asked the players to make a fast start, which we did. So it’s always difficult to sustain that.

“But it’s that and the usual grind and time of the season. The players have put in a huge physical graft over the last couple of months and the numbers and data show that our high speed sprints and running have increased markedly over the last couple of months

“There has been a big physical output and that, at times can catch up with you in terms of Saturday then Tuesday fixtures.

“But we have a big squad and a fit group as well as a good support team and recovery processes.

“I’m very confident we’ll have the boys fit and ready for the games and they same to have recovered well heading into Saturday and are raring to go.”