Evan Ferguson faces a race against time to be fit for Ireland’s World Cup play-off against Czechia on March 26 with a decision due this week on whether the striker will require surgery on an ankle problem that has kept him out for more than a month. The 21-year-old has been plagued by injury issues while on loan at Roma from Brighton this season and has not featured for the Serie A club since a Europa League game against Stuttgart on Jan. 22. With just over 3 weeks to go until Ireland play in Prague, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that the Meath native will meet with specialists to assess if surgery is required.
Surgery on his ankle at this stage would likely see Ferguson miss the rest of the season. Ferguson underwent ankle surgery at Brighton in 2024 but speaking recently, Roma boss Gian Piero Gasperini questioned whether it had fully resolved the issue, as he opened up on the injury issues the striker has suffered lately. Gasperini said: ‘‘Ferguson has an ankle problem, the fourth sprain he has suffered. Last year, he was sidelined for a year due to ankle surgery, so this guy's biggest challenges are of this nature. We are trying to get him back on his feet, but every time he changes direction, he risks a small sprain. The ankle he had surgery on didn’t completely resolve the problem.’’
BRADY BOOST
FOR HEIMIR
In the English Championship Robbie Brady made his first appearance of the season for Preston on Saturday, returning from injury in a badly needed boost for Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson. Brady has been sidelined all season after he underwent surgery on an ankle problem in the summer, so the sight of him coming off the bench for the last 30 minutes of Preston’s 2-0 loss at home to Millwall is encouraging. Meanwhile Irish striker Troy Parrott was left out of the starting XI by AZ Alkmaar in their league defeat away to Utrecht on Sunday. The Dubliner was introduced as a half-time sub, but could not help AZ overturn a 2-0 deficit.
