Evan Ferguson: Teenage talent says fitness 'all good' for Republic's Greece game

Evan Ferguson scored his first international goal in the friendly win over Latvia in March

Brighton's teenage talent Evan Ferguson has insisted that he is fully fit for the Republic of Ireland's Euro 2024 qualifier against Greece on Friday.

A knee injury ruled the 18-year-old out of last month's defeats by France and the Netherlands which all but ended any slim hopes of Group B qualification.

But Ferguson is back for a Dublin game which the Irish must win to keep alive hopes of finishing third in the group.

"At the moment, I am all good," said the county Meath lad.

Ferguson played down concerns that he has not featured in a full 90 minutes for Brighton since scoring a hat-trick against Newcastle on 2 September.

"If you see most of the games, I don't think many of the attacking players play 90 minutes," he replied.

"I'm sure the gaffer [Stephen Kenny] will pick the team he feels suits for the game. I feel like I'm alright and I'm ready to start."

'The injury held me back'

Ferguson's withdrawal from the squad for last month's months qualifier was a huge blow for under-pressure Republic manager Kenny and the Brighton forward said it was a big disappointment for him too.

"It was such a big window and I was looking forward to playing the two games," added the Brighton man, who has scored two goals in his six international appearances.

"The injury held me back and I couldn't do anything. I just went back to get into rehab and tried to get myself fit.

"I watched the two games, two good performances and I'm looking forward to the two games we have now."

Barring any further hiccups, Ferguson will travel with the Republic to Faro for Monday's qualifier against group minnows Gibraltar.

Evan Ferguson scored his first Premier League hat-trick against Newcastle last month

Ferguson's emergence at Brighton has meant that the spotlight is very much on him but he insists that he tries "not to play too much attention to it".

"If you go on your phone you are going to see stuff, the positive and the negative, you are going to see it everywhere so it's about trying to not concentrate on it," he said.

While hopes of a place at Euro 2024 now rest on the unlikely scenario of the various permutations handing the Republic a play-offs spot, Tuesday's official announcement of the successful UK and Ireland bid for Euro 2028 means Ferguson can hope to play in a major finals on home soil as a 23-year-old.

"It would be an unbelievable experience for anyone, any of the Irish boys in their home town, their home country, I think it would be an unbelievable feeling to host it," said Ferguson.