On Saturday, November 4, Birmingham City will return to St Andrew’s to face high-flying Ipswich Town in the EFL Championship.
Wayne Rooney is still without a win after three straight defeats, and things aren’t going to get any easier when Ipswich Town visit. The newly promoted side has had a fantastic start to the season, currently sitting second, nine points ahead of third-placed Leeds United.
They fell behind to Plymouth Argyle last time out but came back to win 3-2 thanks to an own goal from Bali Mumba and goals from George Hirst and Marcus Harness. Birmingham were defeated 3-1 by Southampton in the lunchtime kick-off, but there was some debate over the referee’s decision not to award Birmingham a penalty following an apparent foul on Oliver Burke by goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu.
The Tractor Boys were in action on Wednesday night, losing 3-1 to Fulham at Portman Road in the Carabao Cup round of 16. Several changes were made, with Christian Walton and former Aston Villa player Axel Tuanzebe making their season debuts, and we should see several changes from former Manchester United coach Kieran McKenna on Saturday.
The last meeting between these two teams ended in a 1-1 draw in April 2019. Birmingham’s Lukas Jutkiewicz scored first, and Gwion Edwards equalized, but it wasn’t enough to keep Ipswich in the Championship. The only remaining Blus players from that game are Jutkiewicz and Marc Roberts.
Without further ado, here is the most recent injury and team news from the Blues and Tractor Boys camps:
“Hopefully there will be no need for surgery,” Kieran McKenna said. He’s out of the sling and starting to work out in the gym. “As I previously stated, he won’t be able to play until after the international break.”
Among the substitutes for the game against Cheltenham. He hasn’t played since mid-August, but his return is much appreciated.
Ladapo came on as an unused substitute in Ipswich’s win over Plymouth before starting against Fulham. He’s recovered from his injury from last week and is ready to go.
Injured his ACL in mid-August and will miss the rest of the season. He is out of contract next summer, so a decision must be made.
He’ll be out for’several months’ following knee surgery. In October, he suffered an MCL injury 65 minutes into his first league start of the season.
“Unfortunately, Lee Evans has an MCL injury.” “He’ll have surgery,” said boss Kieran McKenna. “He’s had the issue a couple of times and hasn’t had the surgical repair,” she said. “He can fully recover and we’re confident this will set him on a better path for the next few years of his career.”
Last week, he was a substitute against Plymouth before making his long-awaited debut against Fulham.
Last week, George Hall and Ethan Laird returned to first-team training. He was suffering from his third hamstring injury in four months. Hall could find himself on the bench before the end of the international break.
Roberts has been absent from the campaign since its inception. He injured his calf against Swansea City and hasn’t played since.
Buchanan injured his ankle during a training session, and his absence has cost the team. His presence has been missed, and prior to his absence, he contributed to one of the league’s best defensive records.
“The other lads who are injured will all be after the international break,” Wayne Rooney told BirminghamLive. We need to improve their fitness.
