News we didn't need to hear.
After an injury he picked up during Brighton and Hove Albion's 3-1 win over Newcastle at the weekend, Evan Ferguson has been ruled out of Ireland's two upcoming Euro qualifiers against France and the Netherlands.
Ferguson, who scored his first Premier League hat-trick during the game, was subbed late on and it has since emerged that he had picked up an injury.
"After an assessment from the Irish medical team, he has been ruled out of both matches," read a statement from the FAI on Tuesday morning.
Ireland have a pair of away trips coming up in the next week, with games against France and the Netherlands on the horizon. Ireland are in need of a result in at least one of the games as they currently sit in third place in the Group B table, behind Greece and France.
https://twitter.com/IrelandFootball/status/1699009209944113383
The loss of Ferguson will significantly weaken Stephen Kenny's hand heading into the crunch clashes, however, and will certainly put something of a dampener on Ireland's preparations for the games.
Ferguson, who hails from Bettystown in county Meath, is the man-of-the-moment in the Premier League and has been receiving praise far-and-wide for his performances.
Gary Lineker says that he sees 'a hint of Haaland' in the young man while his manager Roberto De Zerbi hailed not just his goalscoring but his mentality too.
“Evan Ferguson, hard work. Trust me, he’s really working hard to become a top player — not just on scoring goals.
"His qualities are enough to become a great player," said De Zerbi, "He can become one of the best, the top scorer in Europe. He was born in 2004, he's 18. I don't know how many players are young, that score like him."
Being Irish, and having come through the school of Rice and Grealish knocks, the cynic in some Republic of Ireland supporters has them worrying that, breathe easy here, Ferguson could yet transfer to England, where his mother is from.
But the truth is that, according to the
FIFA rules and regulations, it is no longer a possibility.
Any player looking for an international transfer must have played "in no more than three matches at “A” international level in any kind of football for his current association, whether in an official competition or non-official competition," according to their rules.
Ferguson, meanwhile, has played six times for Ireland.
https://twitter.com/McDonnellDan/status/1699021019300745363
The player himself has also poured cold water on any propsects of the England switch, saying that his dad wouldn't let him back into the country if that were to happen.
"I can tell you now, it's a no," he told Melissa Reddy on Sky Sports.
https://twitter.com/footballdaily/status/1660936044861169666?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1660936044861169666%7Ctwgr%5Ee2528b47263ed3df454156b0a8f47b0cd273a106%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportsjoe.ie%2Ffootball%2Fevan-ferguson-ireland-england-288057
So breathe easy folks, he's one of ours'.
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