Evan Ferguson may be kept on ice for must-win qualifier in Hungary

Ireland's Evan Ferguson and Armenia's Tigran Barseghyan. Pic: James Crombie/Inpho

Evan Ferguson has been named in the Ireland squad on the basis that he may only be available for the concluding World Cup qualifier in Hungary on Sunday week.

Ankle problems have disrupted the striker’s progress since joining AS Roma on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion. 

A tackle in the game against Parma last Wednesday forced him off, leading to a scan revealing ligament damage and a sprain.

Ferguson’s firepower has supplied rare solace in a challenging campaign for Ireland, his winner against Armenia last month accumulating his tally to three goals in the space of four qualifiers.

Ireland are third in the pool heading into the final double-header, which begins with Cristiano Ronaldo leading his Portuguese side out at Lansdowne Road next Thursday.

Depending on how second-placed Hungary fare in their match away to Yerevan, Ireland will need to avoid defeat against the group leaders to avoid elimination.

Optimist Heimir Hallgrímsson is floating the alternative scenario but is wedded to the fact that victory over the Magyars on the final day is essential to snaffle second place and entry into next March’s playoffs.

“Evan is back on the grass, recovering from a knock,” explained the Icelander, whose FAI contract correlates to Ireland’s involvement in the journey to North America next year.

“We would have called Evan in anyway to assess him. Maybe have the option of playing him only for the second game.

“He has been key to our goals and scoring for us.

“We'll call him in and assess him but we are positive that he will be ready.” 

That confidence in Ferguson is the reason why Celtic’s in-form frontman Johnny Kenny only made the standby list.

“He (Kenny) would be the next in line up front,” he explained about the Sligo man who scored in Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup win over Rangers at Hampden Park.

“He's been scoring and looks lively and has the confidence from his new coach (Martin O’Neill).

“He's a little bit different than the others we have, going in behind, a poacher in the box. I think he scored three goals in his last two games so he’s on a high at the moment.

“The decision is also to do with the games we are going to play. We think the three strikers we have would be picked before him. We know that if Evan isn't ready, Johnny is the next in line.” 

How Ireland face the Portuguese challenge will be shaped by the outcome from Yerevan. Armenia’s only points were accrued from the win over Ireland in September but Heimir Hallgrímsson feels there’s a result still left in the pool’s bottom seeds.

“We have the privilege of knowing the result from Armenia playing Hungary before we kick off because that game will be finished,” he noted.

“So on the day we will know what we need against Portugal. We have a few scenarios from that game.

“If Armenia win or draw, a win for us in Hungary is enough for us.

“So that's two of maybe four scenarios we have.

“If Hungary will win with one goal, or if Hungary wins, we always need at least a draw against Portugal.

“But if Hungary wins with more than two, three goals, we need to win, to draw and then win with three goals away in Hungary.

“Knowing beforehand is of benefit to us. But still, it doesn't change the way that we will start the game and play the game. But we will then need to take calculated risks as the game progresses.”