Crystal Palace vs Ipswich Town: Kieran McKenna reveals Sammie Szmodics and Axel Tuanzebe set for surgery while Christian Walton set to replace injured Aro Muric in squad

Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna had news on nine players - both good and bad - as he was quizzed on his injury-hit squad ahead of taking on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on their return to Premier League action on Saturday (3pm).

The bad news in his ‘mixed bag’ was headed up by forward Sammie Szmodics, who is one of two players now awaiting surgery, having had a setback on his ankle injury. The recurrence had been first revealed, along with Conor Chaplin also suffering a setback on his knee issue, following Monday’s penalty shootout FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest.

Two more players had suffered fresh injuries - taking the total at the Suffolk club to 10 with Wes Burns (ACL) and Chiedozie Ogbene (Achilles) now deregistered for the season - during the clash at The City Ground, with Axel Tuanzebe (hamstring) ‘not available’ this weekend while fellow defender Cameron Burgess (calf) is ‘still being assessed’.

And Tuanzebe is also set to undergo surgery on his thumb again, having come close to losing use of it permanently in an incident washing dishes in October, while he waits for the hamstring problem - having suffered a similar issue earlier this season - to heal.

“I don't think it's as bad as the last time,” McKenna said of his fresh injury. “He has a small muscle injury.

“He also needs an operation on his thumb from the injury that he had the last time. He's going to receive an operation in the next couple of days on the thumb.

“Between that, which is going to take a period of recovery and the muscle injury, he won't be available this weekend.”

Asked about the progress of others, McKenna said: “I think Julio (Enciso, knee) and Omari (Hutchinson, knee) are not too far away from the squad, but it's going to be a decision whether there's any involvement this weekend.

“Connor Chaplin is still working by himself. Sam Smodic is going for an ankle operation,

unfortunately, so he's going to be out for an extended period of time, a recurrence of the injury that he's had.

“Honestly, it's a really mixed bag. We've got some who are working the grass with rehabilitation coaches, some who are just starting to integrate with the team and some who are not there yet.

“Sammy joins the list of players who weren't going to see too much of this season. It's a really mixed bag in the group at the moment.”

Asked about central midfielder Kalvin Phillips, who had been withdrawn during the home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur with a calf issue, McKenna had more positive news.

“Kalvin's trained today, so he's in a better place,” he said of the Manchester City loanee.

“Again, we'll make the judgement on how he is going into Saturday.”

He also revealed that while current back-up keeper Aro Muric (shoulder) is set to be ruled out for the weekend, Christian Walton - whose thigh injury has not seen him available since the defeat at Liverpool on January 25 - looks set to be back in the squad, earlier than perhaps expected.

“Christian's going to be in the squad this weekend, hopefully,” he confirmed.

“Aro has had an injection in his shoulder. He's done really well to be available for the team, to be honest.

“Over the last couple of weeks he's been carrying a shoulder injury and he's made himself available for the bench if we needed him to play.

“It's got to the point where he's had an injection in his shoulder so he won't be available for this weekend.

“If Christian gets through the next 48 hours he'll come back into the squad.”

Returning to Szmodics’ ankle injury, he did not rule him out for the season but feels fans will not see him in action much before the curtain comes down on their Premier League campaign on May 25.

“Yes, it's going to be a significant period,” he said.

“It's an ankle injury that he originally picked up with a tackle in the Fulham game and then had a recurrence of it in the Coventry game and then he had a recurrence of it just after the Man United game.

“He’s going to be out for, I don't know the exact timescale, but it's certainly going to be a good number of weeks and if we see him this season it'll be in the last couple of fixtures.

“We're hopeful that we'll see him before the end of the season but the exact timescale we can't be sure.”

Town go into the game with 12th-placed Crystal Palace - who are set to be without key striker Jean-Philippe Mateta following the kick to the head he suffered in the FA Cup against Millwall - second bottom of the table and five points from safety, effectively six with Wolverhampton Wanderers’ 12-better goal difference.

Meanwhile, Town’s visit to AFC Bournemouth next month has been moved back a day to Wednesday, April 2 (7.45pm) due to the Cherries’ involvement in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

It will be the Blues’ first game following the international break, which begins after they host Nottingham Forest on Saturday, March 15, now giving McKenna’s squad 17 days between fixtures.