IPSWICH Town’s new �1.5m signing, Paul Taylor, will be out for a minimum of six weeks with a broken bone in his foot – and it could be a lot longer if surgery is required.

Having impressed in his first two games for the club since his switch from Peterborough, the tricky attacker limped off early on against Wolves following a strong-but-fair challenge with Roger Johnson.

And with Michael Chopra also still out of action with a thigh strain, under-pressure Blues boss Paul Jewell has been robbed of his two first choice strikers for Saturday’s trip to Barnsley.

“Paul Taylor saw the surgeon yesterday,” said Jewell. “He may need an operation, worst case scenario, and if that happens it will be a long-term one.

“We’re going down the route of being conservative with it at the moment though. We’ll try and treat it and see if it will settle down. If that happens we’ll be looking at six to eight weeks, though he is the sort of character who is shaking his head at that thinking he’ll be back quicker.

“We’ve got to make sure we give him the right treatment and the right rehabilitation.

“We can’t rush him back because he’d be no good on those crutches! It’s not as if it’s a slight one, it’s a nasty one and we’ve got to forget about him being in the team for a little while.”

The Blues boss – who has seen his side fail to convert numerous goalscoring opportunities this season – added: “Michael Chopra picked up a thigh strain against Wolves and he’s out for Saturday. Obviously we’re a bit light in the striking department.”

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Jason Scotland started in the 2-1 home defeat to Charlton on Saturday, with the former replaced by Nathan Ellington at half-time.

Meanwhile, Jewell confirmed that Stoke loanee Danny Higginbotham will start at Oakwell having come on as a late substitute during Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat to Charlton. He is likely to replace Tommy Smith in central defence.