McKenna: Everyone’s Come Back Well
Thursday, 23rd Nov 2023 14:39
Town boss Kieran McKenna says all those who have returned from international duty have done so unscathed, while Wes Burns and Brandon Williams, who had respectively suffered with injury and illness before the break, are both fine ahead of Saturday’s live-on-Sky game at West Brom.
The Blues had six senior players away on international duty during but no one suffered a knock.
“Everyone’s come back well, it seems,” McKenna said. “Elkan [Baggott]’s the only one who hasn’t returned yet.
“The rest of the boys, today was the first day we’ve had Cameron [Burgess] and Massimo [Luongo] back in, so that’s the whole group together apart from Elkan.
“It’s been really good. The players who have stayed here have trained really well, we’ve had a really good week and those that have come back have come back in good health and good spirits. We’re in a healthy position going into the games ahead.”
Burns suffered a shoulder injury while away with Wales in the previous break but made his return as a 64th-minute sub in the 3-2 home victory over Swansea in the final game prior to the domestic hiatus.
“He seems good,” McKenna said. “He came on for the 30 minutes at the end of the break, which was pretty early on but you can train but until you go into that first match action, you won’t really know how you feel, especially from a confidence level really of use of the shoulder.
“But he felt good when he came on and he’s trained well now for the last two weeks as well, so he gives us another really good option for Saturday and beyond.”
Brandon Williams missed that match as he was ill but McKenna says the on-loan Manchester United man has been fine during the break.
“Brandon’s trained well for the last two weeks,” he said. “So again gives us good depth and another really good option for Saturday and for the games coming up.”
Midfielder Lee Evans has been sidelined since the end of September with a knee injury which required surgery, but McKenna says the Welshman is moving in the right direction.
“He’s progressing well,” he added. “He’s working hard in the gym and on the bike and stuff like that.
“He’s out of his knee brace and they’re happy with how it’s progressing. Obviously he’s still got a fair way to go, but he’s moving in the right direction.”
Photo: TWTD
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| ipswichboi added 15:20 – Nov 23
Great to have Burns and Williams back/fully fit.
It’ll be interesting to see if we go back to Mass and Mors in the middle, as opposed to Taylor. I will trust his decision either way and I think we will beat the Baggies. COYB |
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| Monkey_Blue added 15:25 – Nov 23
The only player worry I have is with Morsy is that he needs to get quick bookings or his two game ban will hit the Nodge game and he’s key in any match but especially that one. I know he had a long spell without one last season but we were brushing teams aside in games which won’t happen in this league often. |
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| chepstowblue added 15:39 – Nov 23
After Swansea’s unacceptable second goal I fully expect Tuanzebe to replace Woolfy. We won’t always be two goals ahead and standards have to be maintained. Whilst he’s made huge strides, Woolfy still has the ability to be worringly switched off and dopey. In an ideal world Williams for Clarke is the other obvious change. Faith in the manager whatever. |
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| Swoody added 15:45 – Nov 23
Monkey_Blue I think Yellow cards are reset after 19 games in the championship so he just needs to keep them down until then. |
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Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
