Ipswich Town head coach Kieran McKenna expects forward Sam Szmodics to be fit for their next run of Championship matches despite him withdrawing from the recent Republic of Ireland squad.
The 30-year-old missed the World Cup qualifiers against Portugal and Armenia because of injury but McKenna says he will train ahead of Friday’s match at Middlesbrough (20:00 BST).
“It’s his ankle again,” he said. “He needed a course of injections after the Norwich game to ease the symptoms he’s been feeling.
“So he needed some time off his feet, some time away from the group training.”
Szmodics had ankle surgery in March and also withdrew from the Republic of Ireland squad for friendlies against Senegal and Luxembourg in June, but McKenna is confident the treatment has had the desired effect.
“It seems to have worked pretty well and hopefully the time he’s had off to rest will put it in better stead and he’ll be ready for the block of games ahead,” said the Ipswich boss at his pre-match press conference.
