Ipswich Town: George Hirst and Wes Burns set to return from injury

Hirst suffered a significant hamstring injury in a 1-1 draw against former club Leicester City on Boxing Day, while Burns picked up a similar yet less serious knock against Sheffield Wednesday in mid-March.

The Blues had a two-week break due to Coventry City's participation in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, allowing extra time for the pair to get back to full fitness.

McKenna is hopeful that they've both got a big part to play in the final three games of the season of the season, revealing that they're in line to travel up to Humberside for the upcoming match against the Tigers if they can get through the final training session of the week.

"They've both trained with the group this week," he said.

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"So as it stands, if they come through tomorrow, there's a chance that both of them will travel to Hull. 

"That's a big positive for us."

Hirst, of course, has been out for a long time. The striker has missed 18 games due to his injury, although he's been stepping up his rehab for a number of weeks.

Hirst suffered a hamstring injury at the end of 2023 (Image: Ross Halls)

Although McKenna knows not to expect him to immediately return to his best, he's also aware that there's little to lose with risking him in the final week of the campaign.

"Let's see. He's been out for quite a long period, but he's a fit boy," the manager explained. "He's trained for a good period of time now and we're not going to save anything back in the last week.

"He's like all the other players, raring to have a big part to play in the last week. It's good to have him back, and I think the contribution right across the squad is going to be really important with three games in a short space of time.

"We're going to need different people to step up at different times. That's why we've hopefully got a strong squad here."

Burns' time on the sidelines has been much shorter, which theoretically means that he shouldn't be as rusty when he steps out onto the pitch, especially due to his impressive fitness levels and resilience.

"Each player is different," McKenna argued. "Some players lose more, others lose less. Wes, you'd like to think, is in that second bracket. He's a very naturally fit boy and he's looked after himself as well as he can.

"Losing those two players for a big period of time in the second half of the season has been a big challenge, but I think it's a challenge that the squad has risen to fantastically.

Burns is looking to return after just over a month on the sidelines (Image: Stephen Waller)

"Of course, other players have come in and played a big part, but we're certainly stronger having those two available for what's ahead. I think everyone's happy with that."

With all the positive news, there could be some late doubts to assess heading into the game this weekend, but McKenna is adamant that his squad is in a really good place after the break.

"We have one or two [issues], which is normal when you have a couple of weeks where you're training and coming off a big block like we have," he revealed.

"Of course, I'm not going to reveal anything that would be too sensitive in terms of a game plan or preparation, but I'm happy with where the squad is at.

"We've got good availability and we've got some players back training with us, which is a big boost, and we have good options for every position.

"I think we're in a healthy position."

'Healthy' could be the key word in this case, especially knowing that Ipswich have struggled with illness in the camp for a number of weeks, impacting availability and performances in the run of matches after the international break.

Kieran McKenna has confirmed that there is no longer any illness in the Town camp (Image: Stephen Waller)

Thankfully, that seems to be a thing of the past, and McKenna is hopeful that it won't impact the squad in the final days of the season.

"To be honest, we didn't play on it too much, but it was a month where we had an awful lot of illness in the camp," he said. "It was always going to happen when players are playing two games a week and living out of each other's pockets. It was bouncing from one to the next.

"Thankfully, in the last two weeks, I don't think we've had any issues from that point of view at all. The players are all feeling refreshed, good and positive for what's coming up."