Republic of Ireland striker Sean Maguire has been ruled out of action for two months after picking up a hamstring injury in a pre-season friendly with Preston North End.
Maguire will now miss Ireland’s UEFA Nations League clash with Wales on 6 September and a friendly against Poland on 11 September.
The former Cork City man was forced off in the first half of Preston’s 3-0 victory over Oldham and while the injury didn’t appear to be too serious at the time, manager Alex Neil has confirmed the extent of the damage.
Speaking at a press conference, Neil said: "Sean indicated to the bench at Oldham that he was feeling a tight hamstring. We took him off as a precaution and to be honest I didn't think too much of it.
"Because of his previous history, we sent him for a scan. Last season he played against Brentford with a torn hamstring and he wasn't aware of it.
"He had neural damage in his hamstring from injuries in the past and doesn't feel it as often as other people do.
"We got him scanned and it came back a lot worse than we had hoped, he has done damage to the tendon in the hamstring.
"Sean is going to be out for the best part of a couple of months."
