West Brom praised for 'classy' touch after pre-season injury heartache for former defender

The left-back, 32, spent six seasons at The Hawthorns but swapped the Black Country for Suffolk last summer and is part of a Tractor Boys squad full of former Baggies, including backline colleagues Dara O'Shea, Cedric Kipre and goalkeeper duo Alex Palmer and David Button.

Townsend was part of Kieran McKenna's squad unable to stave off relegation from the Premier League last term. The experienced full-back was a fringe player for Ipswich and understudy to Leif Davis.

But Townsend has endured a cruel setback on the eve of the new Championship campaign, which he is now set to miss a significant chunk of.

The left-back went to ground on the halfway line midway through a first half friendly against French side Auxerre last weekend. Scans highlighted the severe anterior cruciate ligament damage.

Albion sent Townsend and Ipswich a message on social media platform X upon confirmation of the news. It read: "Everyone at the Albion sends their support, Conor. Wishing you a full and speedy recovery."

The message was well-received by Ipswich supporters, with numerous declaring the touch a "classy" one from the Baggies.

Townsend made 213 appearances in his six years at The Hawthorns and scored four goals.

The signing from Scunthorpe United was part of the Premier League promotion-winning side under Slaven Bilic in 2019/20.

He departed Albion last summer for a six-figure fee move ahead of the final year of his contract as Albion had to bring in revenue to balance the books. Townsend left alongside exits for Brandon Thomas-Asante and Okay Yokuslu.