Derry City striker Colm Whelan ruled out for season

Colm Whelan during his spell with UCD

Colm Whelan during his spell with UCD Credit: John V Carr (ETPhotos)

Derry City and manager Ruaidhri Higgins’ injury woes mounted on Wednesday as they received more bad news to add to an already troublesome season on the injury front.

Striker Colm Whelan, who has been waiting for the results of scans in recent weeks, has been ruled out for the rest of the campaign.

The Candystripes also had to withdraw captain Patrick McEleney at Richmond Park on Monday due to the reoccurrence of an Achilles tendon problem during their heavy 4-1 loss against Derry City.

Meanwhile, Cameron Dummigan, Will Patching and Michael Duffy are also struggling with injuries.

Whelan suffered an ACL tear while playing with UCD back in May 2022 and was out of action for 10 months.

He had a highly impressive season with the Students and even though he was out of action, Derry City had seen enough of his ability to offer him a contact and he signed for the Candystripes in November 2022.

He did not get to make his debut for Derry City until April 2023, almost a full 12 months since the ACL injury.

But he certainly took up where he left off, scoring a cracking goal only four minutes after coming on as a 74th minute substitute in a 3-1 away win against Cork City.

He was also used as a substitute in a 2-0 away win at St Patricks Athletic and came on a half time in a 2-0 home loss to Shamrock Rovers.

But it was during the Rovers match that he sustained his latest injury, getting his studs stuck in the all-weather pitch late in that match and finishing the game in obvious discomfort.



In total he only got to play in three games for Derry City but in his 87 minutes of action he scored two goals, also netting a goal in the Pats game.

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