The young attacker also missed the final pre-season match against Auxerre for the same reason, but was absent against Birmingham City through illness.
McKenna revealed that wasn’t the case this evening as the Blues were knocked out of the Carabao Cup on penalties, highlighting that Hutchinson is still keen on leaving the club and returning to the Premier League.
“He trained on Monday okay and then felt he couldn’t contribute today with the situation as it is,” the manager confirmed. “That was his decision.
“He made his desire to continue to play Premier League football if the opportunity is there. I think it’s known how much care and empathy we have for him, he’s a young player, 21 years old, it’s not an easy situation to handle.
“There’s different ways to handle the situation. That seems to be more prevalent in modern football and players get advice in different directions. He’s a very, very young player, so we have empathy with him.
“We’ll try and guide him in the right way in terms of how to deal with situations, but so long as he’s at the football club, we want him able to contribute and help the team on the pitch.”
The attacker has attracted interest from Brentford and Nottingham Forest (Image: Ross Halls)
Asked whether a move could be close, McKenna replied: “There hasn’t been anything that has changed the club’s position yet.
“It’s known that Omari had a buy-out clause in his contract that was active for a few months. There was no serious or appropriate offers in that time.
“Once that position is closed, it’s the club’s position to make the decision as they see fit. There hasn’t been any interest or offers to change that position so far, so we’ll see what the next few weeks bring.
So, couldn’t Ipswich just force him to stay? After all, he’s under contract at Ipswich, who can decide what offers to accept or reject.
“Situations are never as simple as that,” McKenna stressed. “Of course, the club has their position, the player has his position. It’s never as straightforward, especially when dealing with a young player here.
“I don’t think there’s anything too much more to say on it. We have our position as a club, my position that I’ve communicated with Omari, and of course he’s communicated his.
“We’ll see what the next few weeks bring.”Â
Nathan Broadhead, who has been linked with a £7.5m move to Wrexham, also missed out, while Azor Matusiwa was absent after making his Championship debut last Friday.
“Nathan reported sick this morning, which obviously isn’t ideal on the day of the game,” McKenna explained. “Azor had some tightness in his groin, so not available.”