'Bit Of A Mess': QPR and Watford boost as Ipswich Town suffer double injury blow

QPR and Watford have had their hopes of getting a result against Ipswich Town in upcoming Championship matches boosted by news of a double injury for the Tractor Boys this weekend.

Kieran McKenna’s side picked up three points with a 1-0 win over West Brom, Jack Clarke scoring the only goal of the afternoon in the 83rd minute. It was an important victory for Ipswich Town, bouncing back after defeats to Middlesbrough and Charlton Athletic, but came at a price.

McKenna was forced to take off attacking duo Sammie Szmodics and Chuba Akpom during the win due to injury. The former was hauled off following a hefty Chris Mepham challenge in the 21st minute, to be replaced by Akpom. The substitute himself then had to be withdrawn on the hour mark after Ousame Diakite stood on his ankle.

Ipswich Town handed double injury blow

Speaking after the match, McKenna told the East Anglian Daily Times: "Sammie I've not seen yet. That was a knock on his knee that he obviously tried to shrug off. That's one of them that can one way or another. I'd imagine we'll investigate that over the next 24 hours.

"Chuba was a really heavy knock. I haven't seen the tackle up close, a couple of people have asked me about it, but his ankle/shin is in a wee bit of a mess. Hopefully it's just an impact and won't take too long."

Despite neither player scoring so far this season, both are prominent members of the first team and have a combined 75 Championship career goals between them. Ipswich Town travel to QPR on Saturday afternoon before then welcoming Watford to Portman Road on Tuesday, November 4.

QPR and Watford up next for Tractor Boys

The Tractor Boys, who came down from the Premier League last season, sit 12th in the second tier, just two places and one point above the Hornets. The R’s are in 9th following defeat to Derby County on Saturday.

Ipswich Town won 1-0 on their last visit to Loftus Road in August 2023, having drawn 0-0 in the reverse fixture earlier that season. The side’s last home fixture against Watford came in April 2024 and was a 0-0 draw.

McKenna’s side will go into the meetings with QPR and Watford buoyed by Saturday’s performance. Speaking after the match, the manager said: “It’s a really good win for the group, really happy for the players and for the staff.

“To be fair it was a good win in that if I could have picked the type of win that would really benefit the group today, I think it would be one where we have a clean sheet, we have a really stable performance and give nothing away. It was a tough game as well. We knew it would be played in a really difficult atmosphere but the players stuck together, stuck to their jobs.”

In other news, Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder drops QPR loan recall hint as Norrington-Davies impresses.