The Championship is back after a week’s break due to the FA Cup third round, and both Ipswich Town and Blackburn Rovers want to mark that return to league action with a win.
There’s an added edge to this lunchtime clash on Saturday, as Blackburn will be eager to get one back over on Ipswich, following the events which took place at Ewood Park in September.
The initial matchup was abandoned 10 minutes from time, with Rovers a goal to the good and with a man more, too.
That game was forced to be replayed in full, with the Tractor Boys scoring late in the eventual rearranged game in December to steal a point back to Suffolk.
Blackburn feel like they’re owed a win over Ipswich, but with the two sides staring at completely different tasks in the second half of the season, it may be a difficult task at Portman Road.
Indeed, Ipswich are hoping to perhaps climb back into the top two with a win, while Blackburn will be wary of that four-point gap between themselves and the relegation zone tightening if they fall to defeat.
And with both sides bolstering completely different injury records currently, the cards are truly stacked against Valerien Ismael’s side.
Here are the 12 players set to miss this weekend’s matchup.
Conor Townsend
Conor Townsend is yet to appear this season for Ipswich, after damaging his ACL in a pre-season friendly against French side Auxerre in early August.
The 32-year-old has been on the sidelines ever since, and it’s expected that the layoff will continue through Saturday’s meeting with Blackburn.
George Hirst
Ipswich frontman George Hirst has been absent from action since pulling up nine minutes into the 3-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday on December 20, and has missed the last four games in all competitions.
Diagnosing his groin injury post-match, Kieran McKenna said, “it’s going to be a few weeks,” before admitting that “there are no exact timescales.”
With it coming up to four weeks since the injury, there’d be some expectation that it won’t be long until the 26-year-old is back on the field, but, likely, Hirst will still be absent this weekend.
Andri Gudjohnsen
Blackburn are set to have 10 players missing for the weekend’s clash with Ipswich, starting with club top scorer Andri Gudjohnsen.
The 23-year-old has been missing since December 20 and is set to be out for a few more weeks, with the initial timeframe following the knee injury being five weeks.
The Icelandic frontman has shown the goalscoring abilities of his father Eidur, during his time at Ewood Park, scoring seven times, and his presence up top has been missed, with Rovers failing to score in four of the five games he’s missed thus far.
Evidently, his return couldn’t come soon enough.
Ryoya Morishita
In the game following Gudjohnsen’s injury blow, fellow frontman Ryoya Morishita limped off at half-time against Middlesbrough following an ankle injury.
Blackburn boss Valerien Ismael did fear a lengthy layoff, but revealed that, after a scan, he should only be out for a similar five-week span.
Like Gudjohnsen, though, this weekend will come too soon for the three-time Japanese international to make his return.
Sidnei Tavares
Sidnei Tavares hasn’t had the easiest of rides after arriving from Portuguese outfit Moreirense this summer.
He’s been in and out of the side due to squad rotation, and now he is in the midst of a lengthy lay-off due to a knee injury.
The 24-year-old has missed the last five games in all competitions due to the injury, and with an eight-week diagnosis towards the end of December, it likely won’t be until next month that Blackburn can welcome him back.
Ryan Hedges
There were fears that midfielder Ryan Hedges could be out for the rest of the campaign after breaking his leg during Rovers’ New Year’s Day clash against Wrexham.
However, in some rare positive injury news coming out of Ewood Park, the 30-year-old could be back on the pitch sometime before the end of the season following a successful surgery.
But while this is good news, Hedges remains out for the foreseeable future.
Ryan Alebiosu
Right-back Ryan Alebiosu last featured for Blackburn on December 13 before heading to Morocco to represent Nigeria in the African Cup of Nations.
The 24-year-old made his debut for his country in the final group game, but hasn’t featured since following a cut leg. However, he did make the squad for their semi-final loss against the host nation on Wednesday.
With the third-place play-off taking place against Egypt on Saturday, Alebiosu will still be unavailable for Blackburn this weekend.
Scott Wharton
One of Blackburn’s recent long-term injuries may be coming to an end soon, as Scott Wharton’s initial 10-week diagnosis from an Achilles tear he suffered in early November is almost over.
The 28-year-old had emerged as a commanding presence across the back line and captained the side for the five games before his injury against Bristol City.
There’s no indication that Wharton will be back as soon as this weekend, but hopefully, it won’t be long until he’s back on the field.
Kristi Montgomery
The most recent player to take up a spot in Blackburn’s congested treatment room is Kristi Montgomery, who was brought off in the second half in Rovers’ FA Cup penalty defeat against Hull City last Sunday.
The 21-year-old had only just made his return after missing all of December with an ankle injury, and now faces even more time on the sidelines after damaging his shoulder.
Augustus Kargbo
Augustus Kargbo hasn’t been seen at Ewood Park since October, after returning from international duty with Sierra Leone with a knock, which he subsequently played through in games against Coventry City and Sheffield United.
After going for a scan, it was revealed that he had a tear, which has kept him out since.
The 26-year-old was ruled out for three months, so, like Wharton before him, it shouldn’t be long until Kargbo makes his return.