Ipswich Town will be without Tristan Nydam for the next six months, after the midfielder broke his ankle during the club's pre-season friendly with Notts County on Tuesday night, the club have confirmed.

The 19-year-old was stretchered off midway through the second half of the 1-1 draw at Meadow Lane, and the Tractor Boys have now revealed the full extent of Nydam's injury.

Speaking to Ipswich's official website, club physio Matt Byard explained: “Tristan has broken his right ankle and there is ligament damage as well.

“He will have a MRI scan to look at the extent of the ligament damage and will need surgery when the swelling settles down.

“We will know more next week but with this type of injury, you are looking at a six-month timeframe.”

If it is indeed an absence of that length for Nydam, then the midfielder is unlikely to return to action until late next January, by which point Ipswich will be almost two-thirds of the way through what they hope will be a League One promotion campaign following their relegation from the Championship last season.

Nydam, who spent the first half of last season on loan in Scotland with St Johnstone, has made a total of 21 appearances in all competitions for Ipswich since making his senior debut in a League Cup win over Luton in August 2017.

The midfielder joins a long list of Ipswich players stuck on the sidelines due to injury, with Teddy Bishop, Jon Nolan, Toto Nsiala, Jack Lankester, Gwion Edwards, Freddie Sears and the in-demand Alan Judge all currently ruled out of action for fitness reasons.

The Verdict

This is a huge shame for everyone concerned.

For Nydam to suffer such a long term injury so early in his career feels like a huge blow to his development, and he will be hoping that there are still opportunities for him when he does eventually return to full fitness.

This will be a setback for Ipswich too, and with the injuries piling up, there will be concerns over just how strong a side they can put out at the start of what will be a crucial season for them as they look to bounce back from that dismal relegation last year.

It will be interesting to see what sort of starting XI Ipswich are able to put out on the opening day of the season as a result of these current problems, and they will not want to lose early ground in the race for a place back in the Championship.