Freak finger injury could rule Ronan Curtis out of upcoming Euro qualifiers

Portsmouth forward Ronan Curtis may be forced to withdraw from Ireland's squad for the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against Gibraltar and Georgia.

Curtis, who was named in Mick McCarthy's provisional squad for the games later this month, required plastic surgery after apparently severing a piece of his finger in a freak accident. The forward, who has 11 goals and eight assists for Pompey this season, got his finger caught in his front door and the injury has been described as "quite serious" by Portsmouth manager Kenny Jackett. "Ronan trapped his finger in the door, it is quite serious and needed surgery to stitch it back on", manager Jackett told Portsmouth.co.uk. "It happened at home. It was windy down in Portsmouth yesterday morning believe it or not and the wind caught the door as he was leaving his house to meet up with us. "According to his mum, the top of the finger was hanging off and they sewed it back on with plastic surgery. "It was 9am when I got the call, just when we were ready to leave, although he was okay by this afternoon. "How long he’ll be out for is a really difficult one to say. I will be surprised if he plays on Saturday, very surprised, beyond that it’s hard to call." Curtis, who was born in London but was eligible to represent Ireland through his Cork-born grandfather, made his Irish debut in last November's friendly with Northern Ireland.