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20th September 2024
01:00pm BST
Brighton & Hove Albion manager Fabian Hurzeler has cautioned Republic of Ireland striker Evan Ferguson ahead of his full return to regular football after suffering an ankle injury in March.
After a lengthy rehabilitation, the Ireland star came off the bench for both of Ireland's Nations League matches at the Aviva earlier this month, and came on as a substitute for Brighton last Saturday.
He made his full start for the Premier League club on Wednesday night as Brighton progressed past Wolves in the Carabao Cup third round, and could also start against Nottingham this weekend with Joao Pedro likely to be ruled out for another week with
Despite the confidence Ferguson would have received from Wednesday's inclusion from the start, Hurzeler has warned the youngster that it will take another while until he is up to the standard of Danny Welbeck and Joao Pedro.
"I think we saw in some situations how good he can be. He had some shots in the first half, he worked hard against the ball,’ the 31-year-old boss said.
"He can’t be on the level already that he wants to and like he was before in the Premier League in the prime of his individual performance.
"We will try to get him there, he needs to train at 100% and he needs to use every training sessions to get as fit as possible and then I’m sure that he will help us."
Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrímsson, on the other hand, will be hoping Ferguson can get back to the form he showed at the beginning of last season sooner rather than later.
After a dismal start to their Nations League campaign earlier this month, securing as many points as possible in the upcoming October fixtures will be vital for both the national team's progression and morale within the camp.
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