IPSWICH Town are set to discover whether �1.5m signing Paul Taylor will require surgery on his ankle over the next 10 days.

Following two impressive opening matches for the Blues after his Peterborough switch, the versatile winger/striker limped off injured in the early stages of the 2-0 home defeat to Wolves last month following a firm-but-fair challenge.

Should the injury not require surgery, the 25-year-old could return to training within the next six weeks. With it, the front man could be out for the majority of the season. That decision, however, can’t yet be made though as doctors wait for the problem to settle down.

“It’s quite a nasty injury,” said Blues boss Paul Jewell. “The last card in the pack is surgery and if that’s the case it will be a long-term one. We’re hoping that’s he not going to need surgery, but we’ve got to be careful, because he’s such a keen lad, that we don’t bring him back too early and set him back.

“I think the next 10 days will be important to see how he progresses.”

He added: “It was a bitter blow to lose him so quickly because he’d been a bright spark. He gave the supporters a lift, but hopefully he’ll be here for a few years and do well.” Meanwhile, Jewell revealed that another of his summer signings, teenage right-back Elliott Hewitt, has suffered a fresh set-back. The 18-year-old, who joined in a �150,000 deal from Macclesfield, underwent planned double hip surgery soon after his arrival at Portman Road. And upon his return to training has struggled with a series of muscle problems.

“He had tonsillitis last week and lost five kilos in weight,” said Jewell. “It’s been one thing after another for the poor lad. He’s getting fit and then he gets a bought of tonsillitis. He’s going to take building up again.

Otherwise the Blues boss has a fully fit squad to pick from at Hull City on Saturday, with striker Michael Chopra back in contention after being dropped for the 2-1 home defeat to Cardiff City following horse race fixing charges.

“I left him out of the Cardiff game because of what had gone on off the pitch, but there’s no problem,” said Jewell. “We’ve got Chopra, DJ Campbell, (Jason) Scotland – I’ve got options up there.”

Centre-back Tommy Smith has been away on international duty with New Zealand this week and is due to meet up with his club mates on Friday.