Neil Farrugia, Maleace Asamoah and pace as LOI's precious commodity

Almost a year ago, Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley was of the opinion that his wing-back Neil Farrugia has "the potential to play for Ireland".

The former UCD player did get to the fringes of the senior picture during Stephen Kenny's tenure as Boys in Green boss, earning inclusion to a training squad and a spot on the stand-by list for friendlies against Malta and Norway at the end of 2022.

However, injuries have been an issue that Farrugia has had to contend with during his career and he faces another lay-off after going off on a stretcher during Shamrock Rovers' 1-1 draw against Dundalk in Friday's opening round of the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division season.

While there were initial fears that the 24-year-old had broken his collarbone, Bradley later confirmed that it was a dislocated shoulder which will still require a relatively lengthy period on the sidelines.

However long he is away from first-team action, the injury certainly robs the Hoops of the pace and power that Farrugia brings, attributes that can be somewhat in short supply within the league according to former Sligo Rovers, St Patrick's Athletic and Shamrock Rovers striker Eoin Doyle.

Speaking on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast, he said: "There's not much pace and power in the league and Neil has that in abundance.

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"When he gets the other side of a player, there's no catching him but unfortunately he's had a tough time with injuries in his career.

"But I think he needs to take confidence out of this one in the sense