James McClean could be back playing for Derry City in the League of Ireland within the next six weeks after a London surgeon allayed his retirement fears.
Plagued in recent weeks by a hip injury after his return home from Wrexham in January, McClean was worried that his career was in danger before Friday’s visit to the UK specialist.
But now, posting on social media and reported on by the Irish Mirror amongst others, McClean has revealed how an injection into the hip has given him real hope of a Candystripes return even after the same surgeon had initially told him that he ‘currently has no business being on a football pitch due to the severity of the damage to my hip’.
Post his London visit, McClean said on TikTok: “Just a quick update on the appointment with the specialist on Friday about the injury. I went and saw the doctor. It went better than I thought to be honest.
“I was expecting surgery or retirement but that wasn’t the case. He gave me a bit of hope. He gave me an injection and that should hopefully give me a wee bit of relief and in about a month to six weeks time, make me feel a wee bit like a footballer again. So it went a lot better than I thought.”
‘I won’t hide away from it’ – Jack Moylan eager for ‘dream’ Ireland call-up after impressing Heimir Hallgrimsson
Jack Moylan wants to go from his seat as an Aviva Stadium season ticket holder to starring on the pitch for Ireland after impressing Heimir Hallgrimsson with his stunning goal for Lincoln City in Saturday’s 4-3 win against Wycombe Wanderers.
Dubliner Moylan made the most of Hallgrimsson’s visit to Lincoln with that goal and another impressive performance as the Ireland manager prepares to name his squad for the upcoming training camp in Spain and a friendly against Grenada.
The Irish Sun reports that Moylan told BBC Lincolnshire: “I heard he was here. It’s great, fair play to him for coming over and watching matches.
“Obviously, we had such a disappointment with the country a couple of months ago, but I think the country’s on the right path. So yeah, who knows what will happen.
“I won’t hide away from it. It’s my dream to play for my country. I’ve been a season ticket holder from the age of eight, I used to go to every game with my dad.”
Moylan has scored 11 times this season already as Lincoln sealed the League One title and promotion to the Championship.
Gavin Bazunu will miss Ireland’s training camp in Spain and the Murcia friendly against Grenada as injury has again delayed his return to international football for the first time since March 2024.
The Southampton stopper is currently on loan with Stoke City but an unspecified injury ruled him out of the loss to Portsmouth last weekend while he won’t feature at Bristol City in the final game of the Championship season this Saturday either.
According to a report in the Irish Independent, Bazunu may return in time for the June games at home to Qatar and away to Canada but he won’t be available for the Spanish training camp.
With Caoimhin Kelleher, Mark Travers and Josh Keeley also unavailable due to club commitments, Irish boss Heimir Hallgrimsson may look to Max O’Leary, Killian Cahill and Ed McGinty as goalkeeping options for the camp in Murcia.
Republic of Ireland captain Katie McCabe and England forward Beth Mead could be the subject of a double swoop by Manchester City when their Arsenal contracts expire at the end of the season.
Tallaght native McCabe has also been linked with a move to the Women’s NWLS in America with WSL champions Chelsea also interested.
Now The Athletic is reporting that Manchester City are confident they can agree deals with the two Arsenal stars when they are free to talk to other clubs in June.
Brentford boss Keith Andrews told the BBC after Monday night’s 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford that his team needs to match the clinical nature of their Manchester United opponents as they look to take the next step forward as a team.
Andrews also stated that his side remains in the hunt for European football next season despite going six games without a win, their longest winless run since April 2024.
