Hallgrímsson facing nervous wait after Parker confirms Cullen knee injury 'doesn't look good'

Early in the second half of Saturday's 0-0 draw with Everton, midfielder Cullen went down holding his knee, immediately signalling to the bench he needed to come off.

CLARET ALERT: Burnley's Josh Cullen goes down injured during the Premier League match at Turf Moor, Burnley. Picture date: Saturday December 27, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Martin Rickett/PA Wire

Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson was given some post-Christmas heartburn as midfielder Josh Cullen suffered a potentially serious knee during Saturday's draw with Everton. 

Immediately after the 0-0 stalemate at Turf Moor, Clarets manager Scott Parker provided an alarming update as he revealed that it "didn't look good" for the 29-year-old, who is rapidly closing in on half a century of Ireland caps. 

Early in the second half, club captain Cullen went down holding his right knee, immediately signalling to the bench he needed to come off. With Ireland's World Cup 2026 playoff against Czechia now less than three months away, a potentially severe knee ligament injury would almost certainly rule Cullen out of contention. 

"Obviously a player like Josh going down and instantly signalling to the bench, he doesn't look too good," Parker said. "We'll get some further tests on it but at this moment he doesn't look good."

Central midfield is arguably Ireland's weakest department in terms of quality and depth. Cullen played 80 minutes of last month's epic 3-2 victory over Hungary in Budapest before making way for Jack Taylor, who would be among the contenders to replace him in the starting XI should Burnley's tests reveal unfortunate news.