Evan Ferguson forced off injured after just seven minutes of Roma's Serie A clash

LAST UPDATE | 22 hrs ago

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND boss Heimir Hallgrimsson is facing a fresh injury crisis after Evan Ferguson was forced off while playing for AS Roma on Wednesday evening.

The 21-year-old was handed his first Serie A start in five weeks by manager Gian Piero Gasperini, but had to be substituted after just seven minutes against Parma.

Ferguson was on the receiving end of a crunching tackle in the opening minute at the Stadio Olimpico, and after trying to run off the injury, was replaced by on-loan Aston Villa star Leon Bailey.

Speaking after the game, Gasperini said: “Ferguson? Evan had an ankle problem, which had already been painful in recent weeks. He probably suffered a sprain, and was no longer able to stay on the pitch.”

Hallgrimsson is due to name his Ireland squad on 6 November ahead of the final World Cup qualification double-header with Portugal and Hungary.

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In the game itself, Roma stayed level with Serie A leaders Napoli thanks to a 2-1 win, while elsewhere, Juventus snapped an eight-match winless streak with Wednesday’s 3-1 success over Udinese, with Luciano Spalletti ready to replace the sacked Igor Tudor.

Federico Gatti thumped home a powerful header in the 67th minute before Kenan Yildiz slotted in a late penalty in Turin to give Juve a first win in any competition since mid-September and move them to sixth spot, six points behind the leading pair Napoli and Roma.

Gatti and Yildiz saved Juve’s blushes after another disjointed performance, this time under “Next Gen” U23 coach Massimo Brambilla, who has stepped in until Tudor’s permanent replacement in the dugout is confirmed.

Juve were level at 1-1 heading into the final third of a match played at a soaking Allianz Stadium after Nicolo Zaniolo stroked home his third goal of the season in the dying seconds of the first half, cancelling out Dusan Vlahovic’s early penalty.

Spalletti is expected to sign a contract until the end of the season, which will be renewed only if Juve manage to qualify for the Champions League.

But speaking to broadcaster DAZN ahead of Wednesday’s win, Giorgio Chiellini, a club icon and now Juve’s strategic director, insisted that “nothing has been signed right now”.

Spalletti, now 66 years old, had a dreadful time in his most recent job as Italy coach, crashing out of Euro 2024 in the last 16 before being sacked early in the Azzurri’s 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.

But he has been one of the country’s most influential coaches over the past two decades, performing way above expectations at Roma, Inter Milan and then Napoli, where he won a historic Serie A title in 2023.

One point ahead of Juve are ambitious Como, who moved into fourth thanks to a 3-1 victory over winless Verona, another match played under a downpour in northern Italy.

In the capital, Mario Hermoso headed in his first goal for Roma just after the hour mark before Artem Dovbyk netted the crucial goal with nine minutes remaining as Gasperini’s charges maintained their pursuit of Napoli.

Dovbyk’s second goal of a troubled start to the season for the Ukraine striker was key as Alessandro Circati pulled one back for Parma shortly afterwards, but the 15th-placed side couldn’t force an equaliser.

Additional reporting by AFP