Ipswich Town, Kieran McKenna must be cautious of clear Jaden Philogene red flag | OneFootball

Kieran McKenna must be wary of one big concern regarding Jaden Philogene ahead of the new Championship season

Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna must be wary of one big concern regarding Jaden Philogene ahead of the new Championship season.

The 23-year-old's £20m move from Villa Park to Portman Road came after he impressed during his short spell at Hull City in 23/24, scoring 12 goals in 32 league appearances. Aston Villa later re-signed Philogene 12 months after letting him leave.

However, during his time with the Tigers, Philogene was sidelined for 23 games due to injury problems, including a two-month abscence towards the end of the season with knee issues.

Then-Hull manager Liam Rosenior confirmed he had "tweaked his medial" knee ligament, and it's not news that players with a history of muscle and joint problems struggle with the intensity of the 46-game Championship season.

Philogene a doubt for Birmingham opener

The immediate concern for McKenna is that Philogene could miss the Tractor Boy's Championship opener against Birmingham City on Friday.

After his side's friendly against Auxerre, the manager revealed that the winger "landed awkwardly on his ankle" and remains a doubt for the season's first match.

McKenna admitted both Philogene and Leif Davis are "struggling to be honest" and will be assessed right up until the last minute, whilst Conor Townsend is confirmed to be out for a long time after suffering an ACL injury.

Ipswich Town's promotion hopes could rely on Philogene

Philogene missed 15 games during last season for both Town and Aston Villa, which is undoubtedly a growing concern for McKenna that could threaten his chances of achieving promotion again.

The Athletic's injury databse paints a concerning picture, rating Philogene's injury record at 26 out of 50, which highlights his proneness to injury.

Even whilst at Cardiff City, records show he missed games due to groin problems. Philogene managed four goals and one assist for the Bluebirds in 22/23.

For Ipswich to mount a serious promotion push, McKenna will obviously need his best attacking players available consistently throughout the season. His set-up does rely heavily on wide players to create chances, and arguably Philogene is the best at the club in that respect.

McKenna must ensure the right cover is in place for when Philogene inevitably faces further injury setbacks. Chiedozie Ogbene is the obvious replacement on the right-hand side to hop into the starting eleven in this instance, but the Ireland international only appeared six times across all competitions in 24/25.

Philogene unplayable when fit in the second-tier

The England youth international is very much unplayable when fit and firing in the Championship - as shown by his 18-goal contributions in 23/24.

Rosenior mentioned in a post-match interview after Hull came back from behind to beat Rotherham, that Philogene is "Ridiculous. His ability is something we missed for a long time.

"He's only going to get better with the more games he plays," he added.

That second sentence could be how his 25/26 season pans out for Ipswich though - a player who could be one of the best performers in the division if not hampered by the stop-start nature of coming back from injuries all the time.

With Town surely targeting an immediate return to the top-flight, they cannot afford to have their £20m signing spending large periods of time in the treatment room.

McKenna must have some sort of plans in place to deal with this and make sure other members of the squad can step up when Philogene is unavailable - because based on his track record, abscences are likely to be a regular occurrence rather than an exception.