BLUES boss Jim Magilton has vowed to bring in a replacement for the injured Luciano Civelli - on the same day he has told Billy Clarke he will be released in the summer.

Derek Davis

BLUES boss Jim Magilton has vowed to bring in a replacement for the injured Luciano Civelli - on the same day he has told Billy Clarke he will be released in the summer.

Civelli will be out of action for the remainder of this year after damaging ligaments, including a cruciate, and a cartilage, in a knee during the dying moments of Town's 0-0 draw at home to Burnley.

Magilton intends to sign another player to fill the role on the left that Civelli had impressed in before his injury.

He said: “It is a position we wanted to strengthen and we thought we had the answer. We will be making moves to bring in someone else.

“Luca gave us lovely balance and there is so much more from him to come.

“We are looking for another left-footed player to play out there but there are not many around.”

Civelli's parents have flown over from Argentina, along with his brother Renata who plays for Marseille, to be with him in the early stages of his recovery

Ironically, the left-footed Billy Clarke who plays as an attacking left-sided midfielder, has been told he will not be offered a new contract in the summer and is free to find another club.

Magilton said: “Billy needs to play regular football and I can't guarantee that. I think what he needs is a fresh start.”

Clarke is on loan at League Two leaders Brentford after already spending spells at Northampton Town and Darlington this season.

The 21-year-old made 56 appearances for the Blues, scoring four goals, after graduating from the Town Academy.

The Cork-born attacker was handed his Ipswich debut as a 17-year-old by Joe Royle against Cardiff in November 2005. Clarke had played in the early rounds of the FA Youth Cup earlier that year before missing out on the final due to injury.

He hit a hat-trick on his debut for Northampton in the 5-1 win over Crewe, and also had loan spells at Colchester United and Falkirk.

Jordan Rhodes, who scored seven goals in 14 appearances during his loans spell at Brentford, has been told he will be out of action for 10 weeks after an operation to fix a fractured metatarsal.

Rhodes' goal-scoring exploits at Griffin Park has earned him the PFA Fans' award for League Two Player of the Month for March.

Two other former Academy players who have been told they can leave have been fixed up elsewhere. Midfielder Matt Daniels has joined Conference play-off hopefuls Histon, while Ed Upson has been handed a trial by Geraint Williams at Leyton Orient.