Ipswich Town: Jens Cajuste, Kalvin Phillips and Ben Johnson to be assessed ahead of Premier League clash with AFC Bournemouth

A trio of Ipswich Town players are set to be assessed ahead of this weekend’s clash with AFC Bournemouth.

Kieran McKenna will make calls on Jens Cajuste, Kalvin Phillips, and Ben Johnson before the Blues face the Cherries on Sunday at 2pm at Portman Road.

It’s the first time Town have played three games in a week this season, following the two recent 1-0 losses to Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace.

Midfielder Jens Cajuste has started the last four games and has impressed in the middle of the park for the Blues.

When asked if he was ready to play a third game in eight days, McKenna said: "That's a question that we're looking at.

“I think it would be an undue risk to play three 90s in eight days.

"We're still building up his fitness, he's still managing a prior issue, and we're trying to find the careful balance of getting him on the pitch where he's doing some good things and not pushing him too far and risking losing him for a long period of time."

McKenna said of defensive midfielder Kalvin Phillips (ankle) and right-back Ben Johnson (thigh), who were both unused substitutes on Tuesday: "Both are still not at 100 per cent.

“They're still managing some of those knocks and are not quite out of the woods yet.

"We're trying to make the right decisions to get the best team we can out on the pitch for any given game, but also not take any unnecessary risks given we have got a busy schedule coming up."

George Hirst (hamstring), Axel Tuanzebe (hamstring) and Chiedozie Ogbene (Achilles) are set to remain on the sidelines with injuries for the foreseeable future.

"That's three of our most physical profiles. They are important players for the level that we're competing at," McKenna said.

"We made some changes on Tuesday night that were necessary. It's not going to be the same 11 every game.

“On Tuesday you could see the challenge for a couple of our younger players having to play Saturday-Tuesday in the Premier League for the first time.

"We'd like to have one or two more available to rotate, but in general we've still got a pretty healthy squad."

In other news, Town left-back Leif Davis has been nominated for the Premier League’s Guinness Goal of the Month award for November after his volley versus Leicester City.

Davis hit his first top-flight goal to give the Tractor Boys the lead against the Foxes at Portman Road with the game finishing 1-1.

Also nominated are Liverpool’s Mo Salah, Alejandro Garnacho of Manchester United, Harry Wilson of Fulham, Emerson of West Ham.

Wolves’ Matheus Cunha was also listed for three separate goals - the first player to ever achieve this.