ALAN Quinn’s Ipswich Town nightmare is about to come to an end - he is to be released this summer.

ALAN Quinn’s Ipswich Town nightmare is about to come to an end - he is to be released this summer.

The luckless Quinn, who has been fighting a losing battle against injury for more than a year, will not be offered a new contract.

And manager Paul Jewell also revealed that the 31-year-old had only just come out of hospital again, due to complications following yet another groin operation.

“Quinner has had a real tough time,” confirmed Jewell.

“I hadn’t seen him for a while, until I saw him in the car park this morning.

“He’s been off for about 10 days. He had an operation on his groin, which got an infection, and he’s been in a hospital in Leicester getting it drained.

“He has been in a lot of pain, and he’s only just come out.

“It was quite nasty and he was quite ill. He was in hospital for four or five days, after picking up the infection. There was a big lump on his groin,” added Jewell.

With regards not offering Quinn a new deal – he has not kicked a ball in a competitive game since an appearance as a late substitute in a dismal 3-1 defeat at Peterborough in February, 2010 – Jewell explained his reasoning.

“I told Quinner that there won’t be an offer for him here,” continued Jewell.

“But like all the other players, who we are going to be released, we want to try and do as much as we can to help them move on.

“Quinner has been really, really unlucky.

“He’s a terrific lad, but maybe it’s just time for him to try something else.”

The ex-Republic of Ireland midfielder had spent most of his career in Sheffield, where he played for both clubs, before his arrival at Town in January, 2008.

After 178 senior appearances for Sheffield Wednesday, Quinn moved across the Steel City to Sheffield United in 2004. He played more than 100 games for the Blades.

A move to Portman Road initially proved successful. He rattled up 68 league appearances before 2010, but has since spent most of his time on the treatment table, in hospital or on the training ground.

Any hopes of a quick return this season were extinguished when he hobbled off early on, during a pre-season friendly at Leiston, suffering from a groin problem.