Ipswich Town boss O’Neil provides update on Emersonn injury worry and praises striker after win over Crystal Palace | OneFootball

Gary O’Neil played down concerns over Emersonn after the Ipswich striker was forced off with a thigh problem during their 3-2 win over Crystal Palace.

Emersonn scored his second Premier League goal in just four appearances and impressed before being withdrawn in the second half with tightness in his quad.

“He’s got a tight quad,” O’Neil explained. “No one thinks he’s too bad, but with just quick checks after the game it’s hard for me to be too accurate with you.

“But we don’t see there being a problem for Everton.”

O’Neil expects to rest the striker for Tuesday’s Carabao Cup clash with Arsenal, although he suggested that would have been the plan regardless of the injury.

“I’ll probably rest him in the week, I would think,” he said. “I would have probably rested him anyway without his tight quad.”

The Ipswich boss was also full of praise for Emersonn’s performance and the speed with which he has adapted to Premier League football.

“I thought he was excellent. I’d hate to play against him. He must be tough to play against,” O’Neil added.

“He bashes people around, he runs in behind, he looks after the ball, he’s a threat, so I’m really pleased with how quickly he’s taken to the level and the league.

“The coaching staff work really hard on him on his technical stuff because it was a problem for him before and he’s getting better very, very quickly.

“I thought it was another excellent number nine performance from him today.”