Farrugia and Clarke set for spell on sidelines as Hoops boss Bradley give update on his injured wingbacks

Hoops Head Coach Stephen Bradley has given an update on his injured wingbacks.

In their opening game of the season, Shamrock Rovers lost Neil Farrugia to a dislocated shoulder in the 29^th minute. His replacement Trevor Clarke then needed to go off in first half injury time.

Rovers struggled in the middle of last season without the duo – they went without a win in July (and only scored one goal) when both were missing.

Bradley, speaking to shamrockrovers.ie, said: “Trevor isn’t too bad, probably looking at another three weeks. We feared the worst when it happened, as he had an achilles problem in pre-season but that had settled. It’s the bottom of his calf, so he won’t be too long.”

In relation to Farrugia, Rovers haven’t gambled with his fitness as having seen Farrugia's shoulder re-set he is set for surgery shortly.  

“Neil’s absence will depend on his rehab. He’ll get surgery during the week. We could rehab it and get him back sooner, but the chances of it happening again are in the 90% region so I think that would be a silly decision.

“He’ll get surgery and we’ll take the short-term hit for now. We’ll see how Neil’s body reacts to the rehab. Hopefully it’s quick and what will help is Neil’s mentality, he understands what it takes when you’re injured.

"He’s had a few injuries over the years, so he knows what it takes in terms of getting back quickly and listening to his body and mentally to be in a good place, so that’s important.”

Bradley confirmed that Richie Towell, Graham Burke and Johnny Kenny are all available for Friday’s game in Tolka Park against Shebourne.

Jack Byrne is also close to a return but Bradley noted that “because it’s early in the season, we don’t want to take that risk.”

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