SAMMIE SZMODICS is out of Ireland’s Nations League relegation play-off with Bulgaria after undergoing ankle surgery.
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna confirmed that the striker would be out of action after it was decided he would get an operation.
The striker had an ankle injury in January but recently returned to action and featured as a late substitute against Manchester United ten days ago.
But he will now miss the next few weeks, which puts him out of the international double-header against Bulgaria on March 20 and 24 as Ireland look to retain their League B status.
McKenna said: “He’s going to be out for an extended period of time.
“He originally suffered the injury in a tackle in the Fulham game, then had a recurrence of it in the Coventry game, then he had a recurrence of it after the Manchester United game.
“I don’t know the exact timescale, but it’s going to be a good number of weeks and if we see him again this season it will be in the last couple of fixtures.”
His absence will be a blow for Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson who has started Smzodics in all six of his games in charge.
But Hallgrímsson will be boosted by the form of Troy Parrott with AZ Alkmaar and Evan Ferguson’s more regular action since moving to West Ham United on loan.
The Ireland gaffer will select his squad for the Bulgarian tests next Thursday, and it is understood that Shamrock Rovers’ Josh Honohan and Watford’s Rocco Vata are part of ‘longlist’.
Honohan, who was watched by assistant John O’Shea against Shelbourne last week, impressed during the Hoops’ Conference League run and would be an option at left back.
And former Celtic starlet Vata is being considered for the final squad after impressing this season following his move to the Championship.
Vata, whose father Rudi played for Albania and Celtic, was a key man in Jim Crawford’s Ireland Under-21 squad in the last campaign.
