Ipswich Town midfielder Marcus Harness out for 10 weeks with injury

Marcus Harness is set to be sidelined until February due to the knee injury he suffered against Portsmouth on Tuesday night.

The attacker hobbled out of the Papa John’s Trophy clash with his former club after 25 minutes, sparking fears he could be out for a significant number of months.

The News in Portsmouth are reporting Harness to have suffered a meniscus tear, with those reports understood to be correct.

It’s expected he will be out for at least 10 weeks, with surgery scheduled in the coming days, meaning he won’t be back in action for the Blues until February at the earliest.

Harness’s absence is another blow to an already stretched Town squad, already missing Tyreece John-Jules and Sone Aluko in attacking areas, as well as Lee Evans and Dominic Ball in the middle of midfield.

Manager Kieran McKenna still has Wes Burns, Conor Chaplin and Kyle Edwards as frontline attacking midfield options behind the central strikers, while Kayden Jackson and Panutche Camara are also options in those positions.

Harness’s injury, though, may change Town’s approach to the January transfer window, with CEO Mark Ashton this week insisting the club will be active in January.

The former Portsmouth attacker has made a good start to his career with Ipswich, scoring seven times in 23 appearances since making the move from Fratton Park in the summer for an initial fee of a little under £500,000.