It's been a difficult start to the season for Irish football's great hope Evan Ferguson, as a long recovery from an ankle injury has stumped the Meath man's previously electric progress.
Unfortunately for Ferguson and Ireland, Brighton Boss Fabian Hurzeler's comments after his side's loss to Liverpool on Saturday don't bode too well for the Irish international.
While Ferguson's role has been limited, The Seagulls have enjoyed a relatively successful start to the season, suffering just their second league loss in yesterday's 2-1 defeat to Arne Slot's Liverpool.
Despite Ferguson re-opening his account with a goal against Wolves last weekend, there was no place in the starting XI for him, as he once again had to settle with making an appearance off the bench.
His contributions marked his sixth Premier League appearance of the season, with all but one of them coming through appearances from the bench.
Instead, Fabian Hurzelers has favoured the pairing of Danny Welbeck and Georginio Rutter, who have proved very effective for the Southern side.
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Fabian Hurzeler's comments don't bode well for Evan Ferguson
However, in desperate need of game time, it's no secret that the effortless success of Welbeck and Rutter is bad news for Ireland's Evan Ferguson, who'll have a tall task unseating either of them.
Speaking after his side's defeat to Liverpool, Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler's hailing of his current attacking partnership certainly didn't suggest that Ferguson is front and centre of the German's plans for the rest of the season.
It is just a short period of time they have played together but they do it quite good. Like I always say with Danny, he is a player and a teammate who is very open to everyone and tries to integrate every new player very quickly in the group.
You see it on the pitch that they have a good relationship and that is about making connections. Making connections takes time. You have to know each other, you have to know which touch the teammate likes, in which space he wants to go, when does he make the run, the timing of the run.
That sentiment was echoed mere seconds later, when Hurzerler revealed that he was keen to avoid rotation upfront, claiming Welbeck and Rutter needed more time together - time that for the moment looks set to preclude Evan Ferguson from breaking into the starting eleven.
I think these things only come by playing together several times and this is exactly the consistency we need in our squad, if you always need to change the players, you can’t build these relationships.
These two are playing together quite well at the moment.
While the door is far from closed for 20-year-old Ferguson, the news certainly doesn't bode well for a player who needs more minutes to get his career back on track.
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