Evan Ferguson fit to maintain form
Roma manager Gian Piero Gasperini allayed fears that Evan Ferguson may have picked up a long-term injury in the early stages of Saturday's 2-0 Serie A victory over Sassuolo.
Bettystown man Ferguson was forced off after just 39 minutes having earlier received a heavy blow to his lower back, but Gasperini believes his in-form striker should be fit in a few days.
"He took a knock, a serious bruise, we’ll see tomorrow,” said the Roma boss after Saturday's win.
“He was unlucky. They are painful blows that semi-paralyse you and prevent you from playing. He took more than one. I feel sorry for him.
“We’ll see tomorrow but I don’t think it’s a muscular thing that will take days."
Ferguson was starting for the fifth consecutive game having picked up man-of-the-match awards in two of this previous three outing, but was on the receiving end of a heavy challenge from Jay Idzes which contributed to forcing him off.
The 21-year-old, on loan from Brighton, has found form of late after a slow start to the season. Ferguson scored and picked up the man-of-the-match accolde from last Tuesday's game against Lecce.
He also scored, and assisted, in the win over genoa and in december he scored his first European goals in the Europa League win over Celtic.
However, his future in the Italian capital remains uncertain with Roma being linked with forward Giacomo Raspadori in the January transfer window.
Roma director of football Frederic Massara shared the latest update on his long-term prospects.
“He’s helping us,” he said of Ferguson. “His improvement has been constant. He’s developing and improving a lot, we are happy. We hope to keep him until June, we will see.”
Ferguson's return to form is a timely boost for the Republic of Ireland just 10 weeks out from the World cup play-off semi-final against Czechia.
In a recent interview with Sportsbible Ferguson believes he has put his disappointing early season club form behind him.
“Football is not an easy game. I came in (to Brighton) started off really well and then had a few injuries. I stopped playing and sort of lost myself. I lost a bit of confidence,” said Ferguson.
“It's a difficult place to be in when you've gone from the highest of highs to experiencing those low points. I've learned a lot in the past two years or so about myself, both on and off the pitch.
“At the end of the day, you're the only person who can make it happen. There's a lot of outside noise, but you can't really pay too much attention to that.”
Ferguson has started seven of Roma’s last nine league games and despite several mixed messages in the press from his boss Gasperini, who has both praised and openly criticised the Irish striker on several occasions, he is relishing the chapter in Italy.
“It’s not easy to come to a new place and hit the ground running,” said Ferguson.
“It’s a completely different league with different play styles. I think when you come over, people expect things to happen straight away, but it just doesn’t work like that.
“It has taken some time. There have been ups and downs, but now I’d say I’m pretty settled. I’m in a good place physically and mentally,” concluded Ferguson.