Football League World
·16 March 2022
Football League World
·16 March 2022
This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk‘ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
George Edmundson signed for Ipswich back in summer and has had a really good first season with his new side. He’s made 34 appearances in all competitions and forged himself a consistent place in the starting line-up.
However, during his side’s 2-0 victory against Lincoln he was forced off with an injury which has been confirmed as ankle ligament damage and is likely to see him out until the end of the season.
We asked FLW’s fan pundit Henry how much of a blow this injury is to Ipswich. “George Edmundson being out is a massive blow to Ipswich.
“We had a solid back three Donacien, Woolfenden and Edmundson. Edmundson on the left, he was starting to form a really good partnership with Thompson. His relationship with Woolfenden was getting better and his progression of play on the floor and his movement with the ball progressing with it himself was starting to get very good and also we’ve kept ten clean sheets in 14 which is obviously great.”
Ipswich currently sit ninth in League One and six points away from the play-offs so it’s a concern that the injury to Edmundson could affect their chances at a promotion push.
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Henry said: “We have a very capable replacement in Cameron Burgess. Burgess came on when Edmundson came off on Tuesday night and looked solid.
“He’s naturally left footed so actually that left-sided centre back works quite well that side. With Accrington last year I think he won the most headers in League One, most headed battles.
“The only worrying thing is that his turn of pace and his ability to track runners may be questioned slightly. But in the air there’s no doubts that he can definitely cover that and on the floor he is more naturally able to keep the width due to his left-footed nature.”
Despite having faith in Ipswich’s back-up option, should they make the play-offs at the end of the season then there is a possibility of having Edmundson back available which would be good news for the fans. “In terms of how long he’s going to be out. If, whisper it quietly, we get into the play-offs I’m hoping Edmundson will be back because he really is a Rolls Royce centre back for League One and I think Ipswich will definitely miss him but we do have ready replacement in Cameron Burgess.”
The Verdict:
The loss of Edmundson is obviously a massive blow for Ipswich as he’s a player who has featured in most of their games this season and built a good relationship with the other defenders at the club.
Ipswich’s strong clean sheet record is made up of their goalkeeper and all the defenders and is a credit to how well they work together so to lose a big part of that is no doubt a worrying thought for the Ipswich fans.
Luckily though they do have a replacement at the ready in Cameron Burgess and I’m sure he will step up and deliver. He has different qualities to Edmundson so should be able to add a new dimension to the team. The fact that they picked up another clean sheet against Portsmouth on Saturday shows he is able to contribute well to the side.
As Ipswich push for a place in the play-offs, there is no doubt Edmundson will be working hard on the sidelines to try and get back fit and should they make the play-offs everyone will be hoping Edmundson has enough in him to be a part of the final push.