Ireland's injured quartet doubtful but not ruled out insists Stephen Kenny
Evan Ferguson, Jamie McGrath, Chiedozie Ogbene and Will Smallbone are doubtful but not ruled out of Ireland’s final Euro 2024 qualifier against the Netherlands on Saturday at the Amsterdam Arena (7.45pm).
Stephen Kenny, facing into his final window as manager, was coy at today’s press conference on the extent of their injuries but did indicate Ogbene and Smallbone are the pair with time running out.
Ferguson missed Brighton and Hove Albion’s game on Sunday due to a back injury while Aberdeen boss Barry Robson suggested McGrath’s hamstring strain was troublesome.
Uncapped attacking midfielder Andrew Moran has been promoted to the squad, with Kenny indicating involvement over the two games.
Next Tuesday’s friendly against New Zealand marks not only the last game of the year but James McClean’s return to win his 103rd and last cap.
As has been the case in recent months since Ireland’s qualification prospects dissipated, questions centred on his future but the manager insisted the imminent decision of his release by the FAI board isn’t a distraction.
“We're just monitoring their situations at the moment and not all of them are straightforward,” he said about the injury list ahead of Saturday’s game, where a Dutch win would seal their qualification with Tuesday’s final game against minnows Gibraltar to spare.
“We reported yesterday and they were all scanned. We have the result of their scans but it's not just about the scans, it's about managing the injuries and so forth and we'll see how that goes over the next few days.
“We won't lose them all , but we might not have them all. That's the way I see it. We will know more over the next couple of days regarding them all. We will have to wait and see.
“Chiedozie is finding it
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