Naj Razi could miss Shamrock Rovers run to a sixth Premier Division title in seven seasons after breaking his jaw during Tuesday’s 3-1 defeat of Albanian champions Egnatia in the Europa League qualifier.
“As soon as he came on, he got an elbow which fractured it, so Naj will be out for a number of weeks, depending on how it heals,” revealed Rovers manager Stephen Bradley. “He’s a tough kid, he played on for about a half an hour after it happened.
“Adam Brennan took a knock but he’s okay, everyone else came through Tuesday fine. We’re hoping Dan Cleary and Danny Grant will hopefully be coming back next week.”
Rovers are without their suspended captain Pico Lopes as fourth place Dundalk come to Tallaght for a match that will be televised live on Virgin Media as Ciarán Kilduff’s side look to reduce the seven-point gap to Bohemians and St Patrick’s Athletic in the European spots.
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Bohs and St Pat’s are seven points behind Rovers with 10 matches remaining.
“Ciarán Kilduff and his staff have done an excellent job, have them really well organised and obviously they have quality,” said Bradley.
“They’ve lost some big players recently but how they’ve regrouped has been brilliant. So the fact they’re pushing for Europe in their first season back up is a brilliant achievement. They beat us in our last meeting in Oriel Park, got a draw in Tallaght earlier this season so we’re under no illusions that tomorrow is a tough game.”
Derry City director of football Mark Connolly will manage the Candystripes against Sligo Rovers after club chairman Philip O’Doherty sacked Tiernan Lynch on Wednesday morning.
Despite significant investment in the squad, Lynch struggled to deliver results in his second season in charge as Derry sit sixth in the table, 14 points off qualification for Europe and only five points clear of a relegation play-off.
It is unclear if James McClean will return to the team under Connolly as the former Republic of Ireland international has not featured since June.
The other Friday night game sees seventh-place Galway United against eighth-place Drogheda United at Eamonn Deacy Park. With ninth-place Waterford at home to Bohemians on Sunday, three points for either team would go a long way to avoiding an end-of-season relegation battle.
Fixtures on Friday:
Shamrock Rovers v Dundalk, Tallaght, 8pm (Live on Virgin Media Two)
Derry City v Sligo Rovers, The Ryan McBride Brandywell, 7.45pm
Galway United v Drogheda United, Eamonn Deacy Park, 7.45pm
