Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna says several players face second-half fitness tests ahead of tomorrow afternoon’s League One home game against Cheltenham Town. .
Tyrese John Jules (hamstring) and Marcus Harness (illness) missed Monday night’s 3-0 win over Bracknell Town in the FA Cup.
Asked if the two were ready to return to action, McKenna said, “I have some ailments in the same category as Marcus, and some knocks.
“To be honest, we will be doing a late check on quite a few players.
Meanwhile, Blues bosses said Ghassan Ahadme and Greg Lee were close to returning to action after breaking a leg and leg, respectively.
“Gassin and Greg are very close to training in groups, which is good,” McKenna said.
“In the case of Gassin, I think he could be an option against Buxton, and that would be a big boost.”
Of the injured Lee Evans, he said:
“He’s still wearing the brace, so at the moment the ligaments in his knee need to heal. We don’t know how fast it will accelerate.”
Panutche Camara has recently returned to action after groin surgery and has finished as runners-up in the Cup against Cambridge and Bracknell.
“Because of the low numbers, he’s in the matchday squad,” McKenna said. “How far is he from full fitness and full confidence? I’m still thinking a little, to be honest.
“It’s hard to join a team or club like this when there’s no preseason and you haven’t played much football since March or April last year.
“I think it will take him a few more weeks to be at his best.
“But in the situation we are in, he has to be ready to play and he works hard for that.”
McKenna added: “The team is very tight at the moment. It’s probably been like this for about six weeks now. We started with pretty big numbers, so it’s different for us.
“It’s got it’s upsides and downsides. Everyone feels very close to the team at the moment. We can give our players a lot of individual attention and we don’t have to leave anyone out of the matchday squad.”
“On the other hand, we don’t have the same options and depth that we had at the start of the season, and we don’t have the ability to make so many substitutions and refresh certain positions early in the game.
“That’s right. We’re making the most of tight groups right now.”
