George Hirst injury looks a blessing for Ipswich Town striker | OneFootball

The hamstring injury sustained by Ipswich Town forward George Hirst, just four games ago against Leicester City, looks to be a godsend for Kayden Jackson after his performance against Sunderland at the weekend.

The Tractor Boys gained a much needed three points after defeating Sunderland 2-1 on Saturday at Portman Road.

With Southampton gaining ground behind them in the table at a rapid pace, Kieran McKenna's side will have been relieved to get three points on the board, having drawn their last three games before Saturday.

Sunderland took the lead in the 26th minute through their talisman Jack Clarke, but his goal was cancelled out by Ipswich striker Jackson in the 33rd minute, a goal that would have done his confidence the world of good. Connor Chaplin headed in the winner in the second-half from a Leif Davis free-kick.

The result keeps Southampton three points adrift of Ipswich, who are currently hanging onto second place by a thread, with Southampton on a 19-game unbeaten run in the Championship.

Kayden Jackson must continue to impact

With Hirst out for the foreseeable future, Jackson knows this is the best opportunity he'll get to find himself anywhere near a starting spot for Ipswich, but he has to keep taking his chances if he wants that outcome.

Unless a new striker arrives, both Jackson and Freddie Ladapo will be competing for the starting spot whilst Hirst is injured, and it's Jackson that will be further ahead in the pecking order after his performance against Sunderland.

The ball fell into his path in the 33rd minute and the striker finished especially well to level things up for his side.

Jackson has scored three goals for the Tractor Boys so far this season in 19 appearances, five of them being starts, but will need his goal tally to significantly rise in recent weeks if he wants to replace Hirst, when he returns from injury.

His performances against Sunderland will certainly have done him the world of good, and being more of a direct number nine than Hirst, he just needs to keep getting in the right places to add to his goal tally.

George Hirst is still crucial for Ipswich

Whilst Hirst hasn't necessarily been a top 'striker', he's been crucial in Ipswich Town's system this season, and has clearly been a huge miss for the Tractor Boys in recent weeks.

The striker had started all but one game for McKenna's side this season, before the injury he picked up against Leicester four games ago.

However, despite a vast number of minutes, Hirst has only managed six league goals this season, making him the club's third-highest goalscorer this season, behind Chaplin and Nathan Broadhead, who have nine and eight goals respectively.

But the important statistic to consider when looking at Hirst's contribution to the Ipswich team is the seven assists he has provided to his teammates on top of the goals he's scored this season.

Whilst Jackson or Ladapo may come in and provide goals for the Tractor Boys, neither have the link-up play that Hirst has given to this Ipswich side, and it's likely the 24-year-old comes straight back into the side when he returns from injury, but both the aforementioned strikers will be doing everything they can to make sure this doesn't happen.