Brighton’s Evan Ferguson could make his first competitive appearance for almost six months for Ireland against England this Saturday.
Ferguson, 19, last featured for Brighton last March during a 2-1 away defeat at Liverpool, where he sustained an ankle injury.
The striker underwent surgery and the rehabilitation has taken longer than many expected. He has yet to feature this season for Fabian Hurzeler’s team but was declared fit for international duty with John O’Shea’s Ireland.
The former Bohemians man is now set to play against Lee Carsley’s England team in Saturday’s Nations League tie at Lansdowne Road.
“Evan will be ready for Saturday,” O’Shea confirmed. “He’s had a couple of sessions with us and will have a full one again. He’s not been back long and he’s been out for a few months but he’s young enough and he’s ready.
“He’s shown he’s nice and sharp in training. We’re also realistic to know that he’s just back in from a couple of weeks of training. We’ve to get the balance right. He’s been sharp in training and hopefully that continues over the next couple of days. We’ll make a decision later on in the week.”
O’Shea also stated there was no conflict between club and country in terms of how many minutes he can play. Brighton will hope to have their man back in tip-top shape for their next Premier League fixture against Ipswich Town at the Amex Stadium after the international break on September 14.
“When a player comes to be selected for the national team they are available for the games,” O’Shea insisted. “Whether it’s 180 minutes or zero minutes, whatever the manager decides.
“There are always conversations going on in the background, whether it’s medical teams etc, and different people. It’s always a case of when a player becomes available and is selected for a team then you’re in control, you have to take care of that player and be responsible for that.”
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