Ipswich Town’s season continues to go from bad to worse with the news of a season-ending injury.

Everton loanee Matthew Pennington will not see out the campaign, and will now head back to Goodison Park after rupturing ankle ligaments in training, the Championship club confirmed.

The 24-year-old was enjoying a relatively successful loan spell at Portman Road, having started 30 games for Paul Lambert’s relegation-haunted outfit.

His final game for the club was before the international break, playing the entire 90 minutes for the 26th consecutive match after a late sending off against Birmingham back in September.

Pennington had played all but two minutes of every game since he arrived in East Anglia.

And the news will come as a massive blow to their almost non-existent hopes of survival this season.

Ipswich are rock bottom of the table and 13 points from safety with 21 points to play for.

The verdict

It never rains, it pours and when your luck is out – your luck’s out.

Ipswich have had a nightmare campaign from start to finish, and this news further highlights it is not meant to be their year.

Pennington had been a star for Lambert’s men since coming to the club, and his loss will heap further misery on the team who are destined for the drop.

Their hopes of survival were slim to none at best, but the defender’s injury now compounds their efforts and confirms where they are headed next season.