McKenna: Decisions Tomorrow on Matusiwa and Azon, Burns Out
Thursday, 9th Apr 2026 15:30
Town boss Kieran McKenna says decisions will be made on whether Azor Matusiwa and Ivan Azon will be involved in Saturday’s East Anglian derby against Norwich City at Carrow Road, but with Wes Burns is still out, while Leif Davis is back from his three-match ban.
Matusiwa was substituted in the first half of Saturday’s 2-1 home win against Birmingham, while Azon missed out with a calf issue with Burns having been out since the Sheffield Wednesday match with a similar problem.
“Azor will be a decision tomorrow, we’re still waiting to see,” McKenna said. “Was thankfully just a dead leg, so no big injury.
“Wes won’t be available, he’s not quite going to make it, he’ll hopefully get back with the group next week. And Ivan, he’s another decision tomorrow.”
Davis has been out for three games following his controversial suspension for pulling Caleb Okoli’s hair during the Leicester match but can now return.
“He’s been training, of course, and played some minutes over the international break [in a behind-closed-doors friendly against West Ham], so he’ll be in the squad,” McKenna said.
“Let’s see [whether he starts], we’ve got decisions to make. Of course, he’s delighted to be back involved. Has been a frustrating time for him and for us as well.
“We know the quality that he has and what he can bring to the team, so great to have him back involved and, with the number of games that we have, we’re going to need all hands on deck and Leif’s a very important player for us.”
Jaden Philogene has come on as a sub in the last two matches following the MCL injury which saw him miss almost two months of football.
“He’s getting there, it’s been a bit of a challenge,” McKenna continued. “Those types of injuries can be really niggly in the last stages.
“He got his first minutes against Millwall, he actually got a kick in the Millwall game pretty much as soon as he came on, so he was hampered in that one.
“So then we had to give him another little course of treatment over the international break that got him back ready for some involvement the other day.
“He felt much better when he came on the other day than he did in the Millwall game, so that’s a positive.
“Of course, he’s been a massive loss, he was maybe the standout forward player in the league up until January and we haven’t really had him since then.
“We’re working hard, he’s working hard to get back to that place and to build confidence, and he’s getting a lot closer, so we’ve got a decision to make around this weekend.
“But the positive was that he came through Saturday feeling good and we know the immense quality that he’s got and we’ll hopefully see lots of that on the pitch over the next few weeks.”
Ashley Young is back with the squad following his hip injury and third-choice keeper David Button is now over his calf problems.
“He’s training with the group now, managing well,” McKenna said of Young. “Still sort of modifying a little bit but it’s massive having him out there, he just adds to the group every single day that he’s with us, so it’s good to have him back involved. Everyone else is OK. David Button’s back with the group now as well.”
Photo: Matchday Images
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