Hodgson confident Duff will be fit for play-off
The Fulham winger is suffering from an achilles problem and could only play one half of his side’s 3-1 victory over Liverpool on Saturday.
The 30-year-old set up Bobby Zamora’s opening goal but manager Roy Hodgson explained why he must now miss Thursday’s Europa League game in Rome and possibly the Premier League trip to Wigan that follows.
Hodgson remained confident however that the former Blackburn and Newcastle man would recover in time for the first leg of the play-offs, in Dublin on Saturday November 14.
He said: “It’s an injury he has been struggling with for a while. It stems from his achilles, although it’s a little bit more complicated than that. He will have to rest it. There is no way I would even consider him for Roma. I will ask the medical staff to take as long as they need to try to get him back into shape as quickly as they can.
“And if he’s fit for next Sunday then there’s no reason why he shouldn’t play for the Republic.
“It is very hard stopping Damien Duff playing for the Republic of Ireland. You have to lock him in a cage.”
Meanwhile QPR captain Martin Rowlands has denied reports that he on the verge of retirement as a result of the knee injury he sustained with playing for the Republic of Ireland against Montenegro during a World Cup qualifier last month.
Some media reports last week suggested Rowlands was set to quit the game prematurely because of the injury.
However Rowlands insisted he has no plans to walk away.
“That’s absolute rubbish,’’ he said.
“Obviously it was a massive blow to pick up the injury, but to suggest I am thinking about packing it in is ridiculous.
“I am more determined than ever to come back from this.
“Anyone who knows me will know how focused I am on getting back.’’
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