Aston Villa v Ipswich Town: Sammie Szmodics could be fit to feature.

Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna has indicated that Sammie Szmodics may be fit for Saturday’s Premier League match at Aston Villa. The four-goal forward was forced to leave last weekend’s 4-1 FA Cup victory over Coventry due to a recurrence of the ankle ailment that had kept him out for the previous five games. “Thankfully, the ankle injury that he had a recurrence of last week hasn’t been too serious, so he’s going to be a judgement call tomorrow,” she added. Meanwhile, the Blues manager confirmed that forward Conor Chaplin, who has been sidelined for the all of 2025, is still out of action.

“He’s had some minor setbacks,” McKenna added. “An MCL damage can result in that. You can get to the very end of your rehabilitation, but there are a few behaviours or movements that can still cause it to flare up. “He’s received a slightly modified course of treatment this week to see if that might speed up the process since he hasn’t quite gotten over that last obstacle. Fingers hoped that he’ll be back with the group next week.” When asked if deadline addition Alex Palmer would make his league debut in goal for the Blues, McKenna answered, “Yes, it is possible. He provides us the possibilities that we prefer. We’ll pick what we think is right for each game.”

Christian Walton (groin), Wes Burns (knee) and Chiedozie Ogbene (Achilles) remain long-term absentees.

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