'It's been a long 10 months': Ireland mainstay Cullen thrilled to be back on pitch

Burnley's Josh Cullen goes down injured. Pic: Martin Rickett/PA Wire.

Josh Cullen is in line to make his first Ireland appearance for a year after the Burnley midfielder’s comeback from an ACL injury that sidelined him for 10 months.

The 30-year-old sustained the devastating setback on his right knee during the hectic spell of Premier League fixtures last Christmas, ruling him out for the season, including Ireland’s World Cup playoff semi-final in Czechia.

Battling back from the first serious injury of his career has been, at times, lonely but he felt the warmth of his fans on Saturday when introduced with 20 minutes left against Portsmouth.

Frustratingly for newly-appointed Clarets boss Fabio Celestini, the scoreless draw kept his side in the relegation zone of the Championship.

Heimir Hallgrímsson unveils his squad on Thursday for the concluding pair of Uefa Nations League fixtures, away to leaders Austria on Saturday week followed by the visit of Kosovo four days later on November 17. 

Having collected five points from their opening four matches in the campaign, a second-placed finish in the pool is the target to guarantee a second seeding in the Euro 2028 qualifying draw in Belfast on December 6.

Cullen was a mainstay of the Icelander’s team before sustaining the injury after the epic win in Hungary just under a year ago.

Burnley have two more games before the Ireland squad assemble early next week, against QPR on Saturday and Brian Barry-Murphy’s Cardiff City next Saturday.

The ideal scenario for Ireland is the reliable performer building up his gametime with a view to participation for his country.

“Delighted to get back out there at Turf Moor,” Cullen told the club’s official YouTube channel.

“It's been a long 10 months and to get back out there and be back doing what I love. It was an amazing feeling and I just want to build on that now. It was nice to get a good reception.” 

Cullen, now four years at Burnley after being snapped up by his former Anderlecht boss Vincent Kompany, believes the team he captains will revive their promotion prospects.

“I think Saturday was a positive performance from the lads, especially the first half,” he reasoned.

“Hopefully we can start giving the fans something more to cheer about soon.

“You know you have to score when you're on top. Football matches go in phases and when you're so dominant in the first half, you know they're going to try and change something at half-time.

“I think we've had over 20 shots, so we're getting in the right areas. We just need to make sure we're a bit more clinical. I'm sure that will come under the new manager.” 

Troy Parrott will also be aiming to rekindle his clinical edge. Saturday’s start against Malaga was his first for six weeks and the striker couldn’t prevent his Real Betis side falling to a 2-1 defeat.

His winner against Real Madrid remains the highlight since his move to Spain and he’ll be back on the Champions League stage on Wednesday when they visit the 66,099-capacity home of Borussia Dortmund.

Veteran boss Manuel Pellegrini explains that his sparing use of Ireland’s marksman stems from his integral role during the last international window that spanned four games from September into early October.

“I see him as always trying to improve,” said the Chilean.

“All players have good days and bad days. We rotated him because he played four games during the last international break with his national team. I have no doubt he will get back to his best. He is a very hard-working player who contributes a lot. I’m very happy with him. He had chances to score.”