Evan Ferguson has been named in the Republic of Ireland squad for the final World Cup qualifiers against Portugal and Hungary.
Group F leaders Portugal come to the Aviva Stadium next Thursday before Heimir Hallgrímsson’s team travel to Budapest on November 16th to face a Hungary side that sits in the playoff spot, one point ahead of Ireland.
It is unclear if Ferguson can shake off an ankle issue that has impacted his loan season at Roma. The 21-year-old was struggling with the injury before being forced off seven minutes into their Serie A tie against Parma last week following a tackle by Argentinian defender Lautaro Valentí.
“Evan is back on the grass, recovering from a knock,” said Hallgrímsson. “We would have called him in any way to assess him. Maybe he only plays in the second game.
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“He has been a key figure for us, he is scoring goals for us. We are positive that he will be ready.”
Celtic’s in-form striker Johnny Kenny misses out, but is on standby according to Hallgrímsson, with Adam Idah set to start if Ferguson is ruled out before the squad gathers in Dublin on Sunday night.
With Robbie Brady and Matt Doherty injured and Ryan Manning suspended for the Portugal game, uncapped 26-year-old Kevin O’Toole has been added to the 25-man squad.
The American-born left back plays for New York City in the MLS. His sister Jillian O’Toole captains Treaty United, and they both qualify to play for Ireland through their Dublin-born grandfather.
“Kevin O’Toole plays in a position (where) we do not have a lot of depth,” said Hallgrímsson. “Callum O’Dowda and Josh Honohan also have injuries.
“Josh will play the Cup final [for Shamrock Rovers] but he is struggling. Otherwise, he would be in our squad.
“Kevin just got his clearance to play for us,” Hallgrímsson added of the Princeton University graduate. “He has been working on that for over a year. We’ve been watching him play for New York, so it is a good time to call him in.”
However, Celtic defender Liam Scales is likely to start ahead of O’Toole at left back against Portugal.
Andrew Moran, another American-based player, returns to the panel after impressing for LAFC on a season-long loan from Brighton. Moran and Charlton Athletic midfielder Conor Coventry – both former Ireland under -21 captains – are selected alongside West Brom’s Jayson Molumby, who will miss the Portugal gam due to suspension.
Will Smallbone, Jason Knight, Bosun Lawal and Sammie Szmodics are injured, but Séamus Coleman is retained despite not picking up any minutes for Everton since Ireland’s 1-0 defeat of Armenia on October 14th.
“There have been better situations for us in the past. Many of our players are struggling at the moment – not playing well for the clubs, even fighting for minutes.
“It’s a different situation from September when we had everyone playing and scoring, man-of-the-match performances. Let’s hope it’s just the reverse [in terms of results]. We had players coming in high in September and we didn’t play well. Hopefully now it’s going to be the reverse. They are struggling at the clubs but they will play well for Ireland. That’s our hope.”
Hallgrímsson also referred to Szmodics’ knee injury as “serious” and addressed social media criticism of the Ipswich attacker after pulling out of recent Ireland camps.
“Sammie has always been really honest to me. If the club says he is injured and he says he is injured there is no need to doubt that. He has a serious injury and will be out for months. I have no reason to doubt him.”
Republic of Ireland squad
Goalkeepers: Caoimhín Kelleher (Brentford), Gavin Bazunu (Southampton), Mark Travers (Everton)
Defenders: Séamus Coleman (Everton), Nathan Collins (Brentford), Dara O’Shea (Ipswich Town), Jake O’Brien (Everton), Jimmy Dunne (QPR), Liam Scales (Celtic), John Egan (Hull City), Ryan Manning (Southampton)*, Kevin O’Toole (New York City)
Midfielders: Josh Cullen (Burnley), Jayson Molumby (West Brom)*, Finn Azaz (Southampton), Conor Coventry (Charlton Athletic), Jack Taylor (Ipswich Town), Mark Sykes (Bristol City), Andrew Moran (LAFC)
Attackers: Evan Ferguson (AS Roma), Troy Parrott (AZ Alkmaar), Adam Idah (Swansea City), Mikey Johnston (West Brom), Chiedozie Ogbene (Sheffield United), Festy Ebosele (Istanbul Basaksehir)
*Suspended for Portugal game
World Cup qualifiers
Thursday, November 13th – Republic of Ireland v Portugal, Aviva Stadium, 7.45pm
Sunday, November 16th – Hungary v Republic of Ireland, Puskas Arena, 2pm Irish time
