Preview: Injury-hit Ireland braced for daunting task in French capital

If the news of Evan Ferguson's injury did not land a knock-out blow on Stephen Kenny, it most likely resulted in a metaphorical standing count for the Ireland manager.

Certain media reports suggest that Kenny is on the ropes heading into this week’s double header, and the loss of such a key player in the days after a remarkable Premier League hat-trick had to prove a real body blow.

The trials and tribulations that have proved part and parcel of this particular post-Covid era of Irish football might suggest that the manager is the unluckiest Ireland boss in the modern era, however, there are others that would suggest that based on his results, he is lucky to be in the job.

Kenny may well be fighting a losing battle in relation to the longevity of his current role as head of his national side, however, raised on the mean streets of the League of Ireland circuit, he has come out fighting before and will no doubt relish the mammoth task that lies in wait tonight at the Parc des Princes and onwards to the Dutch in Dublin on Sunday night.

But first, Ferguson.

How does a manager fill the huge void left by the star teenager’s injury just days out from such a vital stage of the campaign?

The Covid chronicles would have taught the manager a thing or two about last-minute changes, having lost his strike partnership as a result of sitting too close to the contagion on an aeroplane en route to Slovakia, before losing a whole host of players in the hours ahead of a home Nations League game against Wales.

Whether it is a straight swap or a bit of moving around the positions for Kenny, he will have several options to call on, with the advantage being that Ferguson is so new to the scene that it is just really a case of reverting to type.

Adam