Wes Burns ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering ACL tear
The Wales international suffered the injury midway through the first half of last weekend's 4-1 loss to Liverpool at Anfield.
Ipswich winger Wes Burns will miss the rest of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, manager Kieran McKenna has said.
The Wales international suffered the injury midway through the first half of last weekend's 4-1 loss to Liverpool at Anfield, leaving the pitch on a stretcher before being seen on crutches after the game.
Speaking ahead of Saturday's crunch relegation scrap against Premier League basement boys Southampton, McKenna revealed the extent of Burns' injury.
"He's got a torn ACL, so will go for surgery next week," McKenna said. "Of course we know that's a significant period of time out.
"He's seeing the very best people. It's not a very complicated tear, I believe. You can never call an ACL straightforward, but it's an orthodox procedure and everyone is really positive about the prognosis.
"Of course he'll miss the rest of the season, and we'll miss him, but he'll be well looked after."
Burns, 30, has made 19 appearances for Ipswich in all competitions this season, featuring in all but four of their Premier League matches, and his loss will come as a significant blow in their fight against relegation.
It is the second major injury to McKenna's squad after fellow winger Chiedozie Ogbene suffered a torn Achilles during the 4-3 loss to Brentford in October.
But McKenna said the latest setback would not necessarily force him into the transfer market in the final days of the January window.
"It's a blow, no doubt about that," he said. "Wes and Chieo Ogbene are pretty unique profiles for us, so to lose both of them in the course of one season and with the qualities that they have being so important to our system, it is a blow. That is what it is.
"But look, we have good depth in the squad and we have other players who can fill the role in different ways and with different qualities.
"We're not going to make any late panicked decisions in the transfer market. If there are players that could really help us and improve us, then we'd like to do so, but we're not going to add numbers just for the sake of cover. We're pretty strong in terms of cover."