Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna has said his squad - which has no fresh fitness issues - will train on Christmas Day ahead of their Friday night game at Arsenal (8.15pm TNT Sports).
The Blues were originally scheduled to play their Premier League fixture away to last season’s runners-up on Boxing Day, the traditional festive football slot, but a lack of public transport and available parking in the area meant it was always set to be moved.
But while for fans it may have changed their Christmas schedules around being able to fit in seeing more family, for the players it will not change with McKenna having decided they should get them in for a session on the big day to ensure they are fully prepared for another big game.
Kalvin Phillips (left) looks set to replace the suspended Sam Morsy (right) when Ipswich Town take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Friday Picture: Barry Goodwin
Asked at his pre-match press conference at Playford Road this afternoon if the later scheduling of the match at the Emirates Stadium meant a change in the traditional morning session on Christmas Day tomorrow, he said: “No, we're going to be in, to be honest.
“We gave the players a bit of a longer weekend off and then we're going to have a proper flow through to the Arsenal game.
“These games - on the 27th of December on a Friday night at the Emirates don't come round 100 times in your career for the group, so we want to give the absolute best account of ourselves and make the most of it.
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna addressed the media on Christmas Eve ahead of the trip to Arsenal on Friday Picture: Phil Ham
“The group's trained well today, and we'll be in over the next few days preparing as well as we can, and making sure that we go into Friday night in the best way possible.”
Still missing striker George Hirst (knee), versatile defender Axel Tuanzebe (hamstring) and winger Chiedozie Ogbene (achilles), he was asked if there had been any other injuries emerge since the weekend’s 4-0 home defeat to Arsenal.
“No, I think we've come through after Saturday, so apart from Sammy's suspension, I think the availability will be the same,” he said.
Captain Sam Morsy is set to serve a one-match suspension for finally succumbing an fifth yellow card of the season, having successfully walked that disciplinary tightrope for nine matches prior to Newcastle.
The man likely to carry the armband, Conor Chaplin, described his absence - at the same time as striker Liam Delap comes back from his one-game suspension - as ‘a huge miss’ but backed Kalvin Phillips to shine in his absence, should the fan-voted 2020/21 BT England Men’s Player of The Year winner be given the nod.
And McKenna, who also has options with the more attack-minded Jack Taylor and last season’s dependable starter alongside Morsy, Massimo Luongo to consider, confirmed Phillips is now in good shape following an ankle injury.
“We've got a couple of options which we need, to be honest,” he said.
“Massimo has been ill over the last week or two, so we have to assess how he is as well.
“But, yes, it was good to get Kalvin on the pitch on the second half of the Newcastle game, that was important. He's still kind of working his way back.
“Jack had a good game against Bournemouth. So, yes, neither are necessarily like-to-like replacements for Sam, but whoever comes on the team will hopefully bring their own strengths to it.”
He added on being asked if Phillips was now 100 per cent: “Yes, I think he had a better week last week with his ankle.
“He said he didn't feel anything from the game and he trained well today. So, yes, I guess 100 per cent is probably when you have a few more games under your belt. But I think from the ankle issue
that he had, I think he's feeling much better.”
In Delap’s absence, and with Hirst sidelined, McKenna opted to push Sammie Szmondics into the number 9 role against Newcastle before sacrificing Omari Hutchinson to put Ali Al-Hamadi on in the second half to have a recognised striker who could bring some physicality.
And he spoke of his relief to have their top goalscorer back for the trip to an Arsenal side who sit third in the table having only lost two games from 17 this season.
“Yes, he was a loss, there's no doubt about it,” he said.
“He was always going to be and so it panned out last week, so it was important to have him back.
“We're going to need his strengths in the game and we're going to need the other boys as well, that's for sure, so it is nice to have him back.”
Arsenal are set to be without star player Bukay Saka for 19th-placed Town’s visit with a hamstring injury, but McKenna knows he is far from their only good player and does not feel it changes anything for them and their approach to it.
“No, he's certainly not (the only good player they have), and, yes, I think they still don't have many (injuries), and there's no doubt that's a challenge.
“We face Newcastle with, apart from maybe Botman, who's been out long-term, pretty much Newcastle's first-choice team in good form.
“And I think for us to face them with no injuries would be a big, big challenge, and to face them with the injuries and unavailability that we had on Saturday was just a step too far.
“And we go to Arsenal, and we're the same challenge, so we have to try and find a way.
“So, of course, they're going to miss Saka, it looks like, which is obviously a top, top player, but they have other top players to come in, and we have to try and make the best of what we have and the availability that we have and find a way to go and be competitive in the game.”
Town go into the game against Arsenal second bottom in the Premier League table, only via goal difference from Wolves, but crucially still just two points from safety after Leicester City lost 3-0 to the former side, who were playing for the first time under new head coach Vitor Pereira.