Frank Lampard reveals big Coventry City blow ahead of Ipswich Town - Kieran McKenna will like this | OneFootball

Ipswich may have lost at Oxford United on Friday, but there's been some good news for manager Kieran McKenna ahead of their big match at Coventry.

His team's Friday night trip to Oxford might have ended in a disappointing 2-1 defeat, but there was some better news for the Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna the following day.

Ipswich Town's six-game unbeaten run in the Championship came to a surprising end on Friday night, when they were beaten 2-1 at Oxford United at The Kassam Stadium. Goals from Mark Harris and Przemyslaw Placheta gave struggling Oxford a win which boosted their battle to avoid relegation while denting Ipswich's recent push towards the play-off places, which followed an indifferent start to the season.

Ipswich face a big test next weekend, when they welcome the runaway Championship leaders Coventry City to Portman Road, and there was slightly better news for manager Kieran McKenna the following day, even though Coventry maintained their sensational start to the season with a 3-1 win against Charlton Athletic at the CBS Arena, with Ellis Simms scoring twice.

Frank Lampard confirms Coventry City's Brandon Thomas-Asante blow ahead of Ipswich Town

One name missing from the Coventry City team-sheet for the Charlton match was that of top scorer Brandon Thomas-Asante, and the Coventry Evening Telegraph have now reported that the forward will be out until the new year with a torn hamstring.

The Coventry manager Frank Lampard said that, "Brandon’s got a hamstring injury and he’ll be out for six weeks or so." Thomas-Asante is currently the joint-top scorer in the Championship alongside Carlton Morris of Derby County.

Morris is also out injured at the moment, and there had been concerns that his injury could be season-ending, though the Derby manager John Eustace has confirmed that he will more likely be out for around rather than three months rather than the rest of the season.

There was better news for Sky Blues fans, though, with Lampard also indicating that USA international Haji Wright could be set to return for their big match in Suffolk next weekend.

Brandon Thomas-Asante's Coventry City absence is an Ipswich Town, Kieran McKenna boost

There's little question that the absence of Brandon Thomas-Asante is a big boost for Kieran McKenna ahead of Ipswich's clash with Coventry at Portman Road next Saturday.

Thomas-Asante has been one of the surprise hits of the season at the CBS Arena. He signed for Coventry from West Bromwich Albion for an undisclosed fee in the summer of 2024, but had a disappointing 2024-25 season in front of the Sky Blues, netting just four times in 36 appearances for them.

This season, however, has been a different matter. With 10 goals and 3 assists in 17 league games, Thomas-Asante's contribution has helped to fire Frank Lampard's team to a ten-point lead at the top of the Championship, with 50 goals scored in their first 18 league matches of the season.

But there are limits to this being good news for McKenna. Thomas-Asante's absence did prevent Coventry coming from behind to beat Charlton Athletic 3-1 on Saturday, so the goals are still flowing for the Championship's top scorers. Their meeting at Portman Road next weekend will be the biggest test that Ipswich have faced this season, and they'll go into the match in a slightly uncertain position following that surprising and disappointing result at Oxford.