Evan Ferguson's rise no surprise to Derry City newcomer Colm Whelan

When Derry City get their season underway on Friday night with the curtain raiser of a President's Cup final against reigning league champions Shamrock Rovers, Colm Whelan's absence from the Candystripes matchday squad will be no surprise.

The Republic of Ireland under-21 international is still some weeks away from a return to action as he recovers from last summer's season-ending cruciate knee ligament injury.

At the time of that setback, the then-UCD forward was on the cusp of a potential move away to the UK with English League One outfit Lincoln City hovering with intent.

The burgeoning interest in him had come off the back of strong individual performances for the Students in the first half of last season's SSE Airtricity League Premier Division when he netted four times prior to the injury, having already plundered 40 goals in all competitions across the previous two First Division campaigns.

Those two seasons and a half had seen the Kilkenny native form part of a dynamic duo with fellow Ireland U21 international Liam Kerrigan, who had also been tipped with a move away from UCD.

Whereas Whelan's trajectory was stalled, Sligoman Kerrigan did get a transfer and much further afield, becoming part of what was a growing trend of Irish youngsters at Italian clubs by signing for Como.

Unfortunately, just like Whelan, he sustained an injury to his cruciate which has curtailed his involvement in Serie B after an encouraging start to the 2022-23 season.

But the two pals have remained in close contact as they acclimatise to Derry and northern Italy respectively.

"Me and Liam, we'd be good mates," Whelan said during the launch of the 2023 Leauge of Ireland season at Dublin's City Hall.

"He picked up the same injury as me a few months