Ipswich have told midfielder Alan Judge he will not be appearing for the club again this season so as not to trigger a 12-month contract extension.

The club announced on their official website that the 32-year-old has made 29 starts for them this season and another one would automatically lead to a new deal at Portman Road.

Manager Paul Cook said: “It’s not ideal for us or Alan because I would have liked to have had him available for us over the rest of the season.

“I told him we are not in a position to trigger that extension to his contract and, because of the situation, we won’t be considering him for the remaining games.”

Judge, who began his career at Blackburn before moving on to Notts County, joined Ipswich from Brentford as a free agent in January 2019.

He has made 91 appearances in all competitions for the Tractor Boys, scoring eight goals.

Ipswich, ninth in Sky Bet League One, five points off the play-offs, appointed former Wigan boss Cook at the beginning of last month as a replacement for Paul Lambert, who left the club by mutual consent.