Roma make final decision on Ferguson availability for Hungary vs. Ireland

Reports in Italy confirm that Roma have taken the decision not to release centre-forward Evan Ferguson for international duty, despite hopes in Ireland that he might be available to feature against Hungary in World Cup qualifying on Sunday. 

Ferguson was controversially included in Heimir Hallgrímsson’s squad for Ireland’s November World Cup qualifiers against Portugal and Hungary, despite the fact that he was still recovering from a recent injury he had picked up in Serie A. 

The 21-year-old suffered an ankle ligament sprain during Roma’s 2-1 win over Parma at the end of October, and has not featured for the Giallorossi since. He was not included in the matchday squad for Roma’s most recent match: A 2-0 win over Udinese prior to the international break. 

Roma later had to clarify the situation surrounding Ferguson and his Ireland call-up, confirming that Ferguson would stay at Trigoria to continue his injury recovery, rather than joining up with his international colleagues. 

Roma admitted that there was still a possibility that Ferguson could be released in time to feature for Ireland against Hungary on Sunday, but reports from Corriere dello Sport confirm that this will not be the case. 

Saturday’s report claims that Ferguson is still not quite at 100%, and that Roma do not want to take any risks given that their only other senior centre-forward, Artem Dovbyk, is also out injured at the moment.