Kieran McKenna has provided an update on Ipswich Town’s injury situation

Relegation strugglers Ipswich Town travel to Manchester United in a must-win game at the bottom of the Premier League table.

The Tractor Boys are currently 18th in the table with 17 points from 26 matches and are now five points adrift of safety after a disastrous weekend which saw Kieran McKenna’s men fall further behind Wolves after a 4-1 defeat to Spurs.

Meanwhile, United sit 15th in the table, and despite being 13 clear of the drop zone will be desperate to build momentum to avoid their worst ever points tally in a Premier League season.

Kieran McKenna offers Ipswich Town injury update

Kieran McKenna has refused to rule out midfield duo Jens Cajuste and Kalvin Phillips for the trip to take on his old club at Old Trafford. McKenna, who was once a part of the coaching team at Carrington, was forced to substitute both players off at the weekend with knocks during the 4-1 defeat to Spurs, but remains hopeful that the duo can make a swift recovery.

Commenting ahead of the contest, he said, via TWTD: “Jens and Kalvin going off was a blow. They're still being assessed, to be honest. We don't know the severity, it looks like hopefully neither is a very, very serious injury, but they're still sort of getting some scans and assessments today before we know further. And other than that, I think we're similar to how we are.

When pressed on the midfield pair, he added: “Honestly, I don’t think we can rule anything in or out, and that’s not being flippant with it. They’re getting some scans this morning, we’re waiting on results this afternoon. We think neither injury is very severe, but we can’t put any timescale, beyond that, to be honest.”

Axel Tuanzebe returns to face former club

Ipswich Town defender Axel Tuanzebe missed the home match with Tottenham through a one-match suspension but is expected to be in the squad against his former club at Old Trafford.

Tuanzebe, a winner of both the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year (2014/15) and Denzil Haroun Reserve Team Player of the Year (2016/17) made 37 first team appearances in total for United with just 19 of those coming in the Premier League. After loan spells with Aston Villa, Napoli and Stoke City, he joined Ipswich Town on a free transfer and played 19 times last season as the club clinched automatic promotion. Tuanzebe has made 13 appearances for the Tractor Boys this season in an injury-hit campaign.

“Of course, it will be nice to have Axel Tuanzebe back in the squad [following his one-match ban],” said McKenna. “Conor Chaplin’s got a full session in with the group today, which was good.”

However, the Tractor Boys will not be able to call upon Wesley Burns, Chiedozie Ogbene, Christian Walton and Julio Enciso who are all absent through injury.