Ipswich Town boss Kieran Mckenna admits ‘big blow’ as returning forward Sammie Szmodics suffers ankle injury in FA Cup win at Coventry City

Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna has confirmed the injury Sammie Szmodics suffered in the first half of this afternoon’s 4-1 FA Cup win at Coventry City was to the same ankle which had previously kept him sidelined.

The 29-year-old had missed the last five matches having picked up the knock at Fulham early in January.

The Republic of Ireland international had undergone treatment earlier in the match before indicating he wanted to come off in the 35th minute, Nathan Broadhead taking over.

“I don’t know about a recurrence but it’s the same ankle, so the chances are it’s probably linked,” McKenna said when asked about Szmodics’s injury.

“That’s a big blow, there’s no doubt about it. We really, really enjoyed having him back in training this week, he gives us a different dynamic, a different maturity, a different age profile, a different type of player, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed, but that’s the big downside from today.”

Town missed out on adding to their striker options in the January window, with Szmodics one of the players, along with Broadhead, who can operate in that number nine role, if required.

With Ali Al-Hamadi having gone out on loan to Stoke City, Liam Delap and George Hirst are the only natural senior strikers for McKenna to pick from.