Ipswich Town host Birmingham City in their Championship opener on Saturday and the preparations have, shall we say, not been ideal.

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The Blues were thrashed 6-1 at League One side Charlton Athletic in their final warm-up game on Saturday, while boss Mick McCarthy potentially has SEVEN players sidelined through injury or illness.

Striker David McGoldrick is the latest player to be affected by the virus which has swept through the camp, with Bersant Celina and Tom Adeyemi also currently struggling, while Emyr Huws (Achilles), Teddy Bishop (groin) and Luke Hyam (ankle) are out.

In addition, summer signing Joe Garner – who scored six goals in pre-season – limped off at The Valley on Saturday after being clattered, with Town unsure how badly he was hurt.

That could leave McCarthy with just Grant Ward, Danny Rowe, Cole Skuse and Kevin Bru as senior midfield options, along with youngsters Flynn Downes, Andre Dozzell and Tristan Nydam, with Freddie Sears as the sole senior striker available.

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