Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna says the inconvenience of international call-ups is something the club is going to have to get used to. The Blues currently have seven players away representing their nations in the form of Nathan Broadhead, Wes Burns (both Wales), Sam Morsy (Egypt), Cameron Burgess (Australia), Elkan Baggott (Indonesia U23s), Cieran Slicker (Scotland U21s) and new Tottenham loanee Dane Scarlett (England U21s).
Morsy, whose father grew up in Cairo, has waited five years for his international recall, while Burgess, who lived in Australia from the age of 10 to 16, has been equally proud of his first-ever senior selection. With the African Cup of Nations and the AFC Asian Cup both taking place in January/February, Ipswich Town could be without two key players for several games of the Championship season, possibly more if Massimo Luongo can get back in the Australasia.
“I know that Jack (Taylor) is close (with the Republic of Ireland) and I think we can all see that Massimo (Luongo) is knocking on that door very, very hard as well.
“It’s fine if some of them go away to larger tournaments. International competitions, playing on Sunday and Monday nights, are all part of the current game.
“This is the table we want to sit at. We want players to be recognized and to participate in tournaments because it will benefit the club in the long run.
“They’ll learn from their experiences, hopefully returning better players, and hopefully helping everyone else get better.”
“We’ll deal with those call-ups if they come, that’s part of trying to re-establish ourselves as a club and progressing as a club.” WHEN ARE THESE MAJOR TOURNAMENTS? The African Cup of Nations will be held in the Ivory Coast from January 13 to February 11. Ipswich face Sunderland (h),
During that time, Leicester (a), Rotherham (h), Preston (a), and West Brom (h) were all in action. Egypt has already qualified as Group D winners, with their last match against Ethiopia scheduled for Monday night. In February 2022, the Pharoahs reached the final of the last African Cup of Nations, losing on penalties to Senegal.
The AFC Asian Cup will be place in Qatar from January 21 to February 10 of this year.
Australia has already qualified after winning all eight games in Group B.
Last year, the Socceroos reached the tournament’s quarter-finals before bowing out with a 1-0 loss to the United Arab Emirate
