IRELAND striker Evan Ferguson is set to miss the World Cup play-off semi-final against Czechia in just over two weeks' time.
Roma boss Gian Piero Gasperini revealed during a press conference on Saturday that the striker, on loan at I Giallorossi from Premier League side Brighton, is due to undergo surgery.
The manager added that the procedure would likely signal the end of the 21-year-old's season.
Speaking ahead of today's clash at Genoa, Gasperini was quizzed about the club's mounting injury crisis, with forwards Ferguson, Artem Dovbyk, Paulo Dybala and Matias Soulé currently out.
"It's now clear that Dovbyk has been out for many months and so he had this surgery," said Gasperini.
"If all goes well, he'll be back at the end of April, early May, so it's not like we can continue to put him on the absentee list.
"The same goes for Ferguson at this point because, well, he'll probably finish the season here.
"He'll have ankle surgery, so he won't even have any more recovery time, not even at the end.
"So these are now crossed off the list."
Ferguson enjoyed an impressive first full season at Brighton with 10 goals in 25 games and carried that form into the 2023/24 campaign with six goals in the opening 12 league games.
However, a drop in form followed before his season was curtailed through injury in March.
He returned for the Seagulls in September 2024 but managed only one goal before heading to West Ham on loan for the second half of the season, where he failed to find the net.
He joined Roma at the start of this season and after impressing for Ireland with three goals in four World Cup qualifiers, opened his club account in November with a goal against Cremonese.
The following month he scored a brace against Celtic in the Europa League before finding the net in wins over Genoa and Lecce.
However, he has not featured in a match-day squad since playing the full 90 minutes against Stuttgart on January 22.
Ireland face Czechia on March 26 in Prague, with the winner playing the victor of the match between Denmark and North Macedonia for a place at this summer's World Cup.
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