Ipswich Town have suffered more than most when it's come to injuries this season. Here's a breakdown of the senior players who have missed game time...
ARO MURIC
Injury: Calf. Games missed: 1
Injury: Shoulder. Games missed: 7
Total games missed: 8 (and counting)
Sat out the season opener against Liverpool with a ‘knock in his calf’. Has been unavailable for the last six due to a shoulder issue that required surgery. Recent set-back hasn't really affected Town due to him having dropped down the pecking order.
CHRISTIAN WALTON
Injury: Groin. Games missed: 6
Looked set to make the No.1 position his own after Muric was dropped at the end of 2024 only to suffer a groin injury in the 4-1 defeat at Liverpool (Jan 25)
Town subsequently signed Alex Palmer and the unfortunate Walton, who was only unavailable for six games, finds himself warming the bench once again.
Palmer has been a big hit since joining for £2m from West Brom, but Walton’s injury meant more money had to be spent and there’s a four-man keeper unit that now needs to be unpicked this summer.
CIERAN SLICKER
Injury: Hand. Games missed: 6
Was on the bench for an early season League Cup tie at AFC Wimbledon. Suffered a hand injury sometime in mid-September before returning to action for the U21s in early November.
Third-choice keeper’s absence didn’t affect the first team, but it did mean Henry Gray had to be recalled from a productive loan spell at Chelmsford for temporary cover.
AXEL TUANZEBE
Injury: Hand. Games missed: 4
Injury: Hamstring. Games missed: 9
Injury: Hamstring. Games missed: 2
Injury: Hamstring: Games missed: 1
Total games missed: 17
It's been a stop-start season for an athletic defender who’s looked very much at home back at this level.
The former Manchester United man almost lost his thumb in a freak domestic accident last September and has twice been forced off the field at Nottingham Forest with hamstring injuries (Nov 30th and Jan 19th).
A one-game suspension served for very harsh dismissal at Aston Villa in February also disrupted his flow.
Has been a major loss whenever sidelined.
BEN JOHNSON
Injury: Thigh. Games missed: 2
Injury: 'Muscular'. Games missed: 2
Total games missed: 4
Missed October games against Everton and Brentford due to a ‘minor thigh injury’, then was unavailable for November matches against Man United and Nottingham Forest due to a ‘small muscular injury’.
The above wasn’t a major disruption to Ipswich at the time, but it didn’t help Johnson find his feet at a new club.
Now, having finally got a five game run in the side, he faces a one-match suspension for his two bookings dismissal at Newcastle.
BEN GODFREY
Injury: Unknown
Games missed: 3
The January loan signing from Atalanta started the 6-0 home loss to Man City and was then hooked at half-time of the 4-1 home loss to Tottenham.
He was out of the matchday squad for the subsequent seven matches. Kieran McKenna said the three-cap England international was unavailable 'for a couple of weeks due to some injury and illness’. A shortage of numbers has seen him return to the squad for the last two games.
HARRY CLARKE
Injury: Achilles. Games missed: 7
Ipswich-born right-back underwent surgery on both troublesome Achilles not long after the Championship promotion celebrations had died down.
It saw him sit out all of pre-season and the opening seven games of the campaign. That wasn’t an ideal preparation for his first taste of Premier League football.
Had to serve a one-game suspension for his harsh red card at Brentford. Eventually went out on loan to Sheffield United.
DARA O’SHEA
Injury: Back. Games missed: 0
Despite arriving late in the summer transfer window, the Irish international has played more minutes than any other Town player this season.
He may not have missed any games, but it’s worth noting that he spent much of the first half of the season playing with a back fracture.
JACOB GREAVES
Injury: Hamstring. Games missed: 5
Summer signing from Hull started the season superbly before suffering a hamstring injury. Left-footed centre-back, who has been rotated with Cameron Burgess, hasn’t quite hit the same heights since.
CAMERON BURGESS
Injury: Calf. Games missed: 0
Australian centre-half was forced off at half-time of the FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest with a calf issue. He was an unused sub in the next game.
LEIF DAVIS
Injury: Unstated. Games missed: 2
Injury: ‘Leg’. Games missed: 2
Total games missed: 4
Left-back had to come off at half-time in the 4-1 defeat at Liverpool (Jan 25) due to illness, then sat out the 1-1 draw at Aston Villa in February. McKenna said: “I won’t go into too much medical stuff, but it’s a minor injury.”
He was unavailable for the 2-1 win at Bournemouth earlier this month due to a leg injury which was described as ‘a strange one’.
The 25-year-old is now serving a three-game suspension for his red card challenge on Bukayo Saka in the recent 4-0 home loss to Arsenal.
CONOR TOWNSEND
Injury: Hamstring. Games missed: 2 (and counting)
Summer signing from West Brom had been in the squad for every match up until last weekend. Ironically, just when Ipswich need him (Davis serving a three-game ban) the always-ready-when-called-upon left-back finds himself sidelined with a hamstring injury. Sums up Town’s injury fortunes.
SAM MORSY
Injury: Hamstring. Games missed: 1
Injury: Abdominal: Games missed: 1
Total games missed: 2
Minor hamstring injury sustained in the Everton home loss meant the skipper had to sit out the 4-3 defeat at Brentford last October.
Served a one-game ban, for reaching five yellow cards, when the Blues lost 1-0 at Arsenal just after Christmas.
Wasn’t in the squad for the 1-1 draw at Aston Villa in February due to ‘inflammation around his abdominal region’.
Midfielder still ranks third for minutes played behind O’Shea and Davis.
KALVIN PHILLIPS
Injury: Thigh. Games missed: 1
Injury: Ankle. Games missed: 3
Injury: Calf. Games missed: 2
Injury: Foot gash. Games missed: 0
Injury: Achilles. Games missed: 3
Games missed: 9 (and counting)
The 31-cap England international came to Ipswich on loan to rediscover his confidence and fitness after a difficult couple of seasons at Man City. Frustratingly, Town’s most experienced and high-profile player just hasn’t been able to build any rhythm.
He may only have been physically sidelined for nine matches, but the way the repeated set-backs have been spaced out has meant he’s not been able to start more than three games on the spin since last autumn.
How much of a difference could he have made if fully fit and firing all season? We’ll never know.
JENS CAJUSTE
Injury: Knee. Games missed: 3
Brentford opted not to sign the midfielder last summer after discovering a knee issue in his medical.
The Napoli loanee hurt said knee after his first league start for Town, at Southampton, and was out the squad for the next three matches.
Ipswich had to carefully build him up to regularly complete 90 minutes. McKenna said recently that the Swede has ‘come a long way in terms of robustness’, but he was deemed only fit enough for the bench at Newcastle last weekend.
The Phillips/Cajuste partnership looked a potentially strong one. They’ve only been able to play 541 combined Premier League minutes together.
MASSIMO LUONGO
Injury: Ankle. Games missed: 3
Double promotion winning midfield hero wasn’t available for October games against West Ham, Everton and Brentford.
When fit has found himself behind Morsy, Cajuste, Phillips and Jack Taylor in the pecking order this season.
JACK TAYLOR
Injury: Hamstring. Games missed: 3
Hamstring injury sustained in training prevented him making his first start of the season at Brentford when Morsy was sidelined. Has got on the pitch in 32 games though.
WES BURNS
Injury: Hamstring. Games missed: 3
Injury: Knee. Games missed: 13
Total games missed: 16 (and counting)
Welsh winger was forced off in the second half of the season opener against Liverpool, but returned to action less than a month later.
Misfortune struck again in the reverse fixture at Anfield on January 25 when he was stretchered off with a season-ending ACL injury.
Injury: Achilles. Games missed: 28 (and counting)
Flying winger, an £8m signing from Luton, tore his Achilles in the defeat at Brentford (Oct 26) and was ruled out for the season following surgery.
“Over recent years, the physicality of our right side has allowed the rest of our team, individuals and the balance to really flourish," said McKenna.
“To lose both of them (Burns and Ogbene) to season-ending injuries, and to lose Axel (Tuanzebe) behind them – all of who have physical presence, pace and power, which is a really key ingredient – has been a big, big blow.”
OMARI HUTCHINSON
Injury: Illness. Games missed: 1
Injury: Hamstring. Games missed: 1
Injury: Knee. Games missed: 1
Injury: Hamstring. Games missed: 4 (and counting)
Total games missed: 7
Club-record signing was a late withdrawal for the game at Brentford (Oct 26) after falling ill overnight. He was twice sent home from England U21 duty in the first half of the season, first with a tight hamstring (Sept) and then with a ‘knock’ (Nov).
Wasn’t available for the 2-2 draw at Fulham in early January due to a tight hamstring, sat out the FA Cup fifth round loss at Forest after Patrick Dorgu’s red challenge at Old Trafford damaged his knee and recently missed four matches with a hamstring injury sustained in training.
Wasn't really fit enough to be on the bench last weekend, but it was needs must.
CONOR CHAPLIN
Injury: Knee. Games missed: 13
Having scored 42 times across the previous two seasons, the fans' favourite had worked his way back into the picture by October and provided a reminder of his importance with a goal against Bournemouth in early December.
A freak MCL knee injury was sustained when blocking a shot in training towards the end of 2025 though and there were repeated set-backs with the recovery.
The 28-year-old has only just started making cameo appearances again. It’s perhaps underestimated how big of a miss he’s been.
SAMMIE SZMODICS
Injury: Foot. Games missed: 1
Injury: Ankle. Games missed: 5
Injury: Ankle. Games missed: 1
Injury: Ankle. Games missed: 8 (and counting)
Total games missed: 15
The £9m summer signing from Blackburn continued his rich goalscoring form in the early stages of the season, bagging at Man City, Brentford and Tottenham.
An ankle injury was first sustained in the 2-2 draw at Fulham (Jan 5), he hurt it again not long into his comeback at Coventry (Feb 8), then made the damage worse when coming on at Manchester United (Feb 26). Surgery was required.
It robbed Ipswich of another of their more experienced and natural goalscoring forwards.
JADEN PHILOGENE
Injury: Knee. Games missed: 2 (and counting)
McKenna finally got his man in January when striking a £20m deal for the Aston Villa winger.
England Under-21 international didn’t exactly hit the ground running, but an MCL knee injury sustained in a block tackle, seconds after he’d come on during the recent 2-2 draw at Chelsea, means he’ll miss the chance to get up to speed over the remaining games.
NATHAN BROADHEAD
Injury: Hamstring. Games missed: 8
Injury: Groin. Games missed: 1
Injury: Thigh. Games missed: 2 (and counting)
Total games missed: 11 (and counting)
Suffered a hamstring injury in the first week of pre-season and didn’t make a matchday squad until early October.
A 'minor groin injury’ saw him withdraw from the Wales squad in November and miss the Man United home game.
Thigh problem has kept him out of the recent games against Arsenal and Newcastle.
In total, that’s five of Town’s 11-man forward unit currently sidelined. Of the other six, three are semi-fit in Chaplin, Hutchinson and Liam Delap (playing with a ribs injury).
JULIO ENCISO
Injury: Knee. Games missed: 2
After a lively full debut against Southampton, the January loan signing went off in tears at Aston Villa after injuring his knee. That really didn’t help with the bedding in process for a player who’d been brought in to be a mid-season difference maker.
LIAM DELAP
Injury: Ribs. Games missed: 0
Technically, Town’s 12-goal talisman was never sidelined with the rib injury he sustained in the 2-1 home loss to Wolves. He trained through the pain though and, as a result, was restricted to a couple of cameo displays in the recent matches against Chelsea and Arsenal.
GEORGE HIRST
Injury: Knee. Games missed: 4
Injury: Knee. Games missed: 9
Total games missed: 13
Suffered a knee injury in an August pre-season game against Fortuna Dusseldorf and, following keyhole surgery, got his season up and running in the 0-0 draw at Brighton (Sept 14).
Provided a goal and assist on his full Premier League debut at Brentford, but then hurt his knee again during a cameo appearance at Spurs. He really shouldn’t have played on that day.
Those set-backs left the inexperienced and half-fit Al Al-Hamadi as the only back-up striker to Liam Delap in the first half of the season. Ipswich's failure to sign another front man in the summer was exacerbated.
ALI AL-HAMADI
Injury: Groin. Games missed: 0
Played through the pain in the latter stages of the promotion season, underwent groin surgery last May and missed most of pre-season as a result.
Didn’t miss any games, but clearly wasn’t anywhere near fully fit/sharp. Went on loan to Stoke in January to build himself back up.
SUMMARY
I make that 28 different first team players who have had injuries this season, with 24 of them sidelined for a combined total of 188 matches. Of the current squad, only two - Luke Woolfenden and Jack Clarke - aren’t in the list above. Add in suspensions and the number rises even higher.
Town’s squad was short on Premier League experience, so Axel Tuanzebe and Kalvin Phillips constantly suffering set-backs has been a blow.
McKenna’s system has been heavily based around having straight line pace on the right flank, so losing both Burns and Ogbene to season-ending injuries was really damaging to the team balance. Others haven’t been able to play the role the same way.
Losing both Chaplin and Szmodics for long periods at the same time has also put an unfair strain on a young forward unit too.
In general terms, always having multiple attacking players sidelined has weakened squad depth. Town’s bench strength often tipped fine margins games their way in the Championship. It’s often been roles reversed in the Premier League.
Everyone gets injuries, but Ipswich, in a season where they needed a fair wind to stand a chance, have had more than their fair share of bad luck on that front.
