Evan Ferguson is set to undergo surgery on an ankle injury ruling him out of the Republic of Ireland's World Cup play-off against Czech Republic in Prague later this month.
The Corriere dello Sport first reported that the Roma striker will miss the rest of the season and will return to parent club Brighton to undergo surgery on Monday - and that news was confirmed by Roma boss Gian Piero Gasperini during his pre-match media conference ahead of their Serie A trip to face Genoa on Sunday.
"It is now clear that he will finish the season here and will have surgery on his ankle, he will no longer have time to recover even in the end of the season," Gasperini said.
As well as likely signalling an end to Ferguson's loan deal in the Italian capital, it means that Ireland will be without the striker for the upcoming playoff in Prague and he will be in a race against time to be available for the World Cup finals, should Heimir Hallgrimsson's side make it.
The news comes at the end of a frustrating spell for the player, whose latest ankle injury was picked up while dodging to avoid a photographer in their Europa League tie against Stuttgart.
Gasperini expressed a mixture of sympathy and frustration at the time as he spoken of Ferguson's ankle issues, noting that "every time he changes direction, the ankle seems to sprain."
Ferguson has scored five goals in 22 appearances for Roma and seemed to have turned a corner with a decent stretch of form at the beginning of the year.
Three of the goals came in Serie A, making Ferguson the first Irish player to score in the Italian top flight since Liam Brady.
The striker had scored three goals in Ireland's 2026 World Cup campaign, including the winner in the 1-0 victory over Armenia, however, he missed the triumphant November window with injury.
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