Ireland captain to miss World Cup qualifier in Azerbaijan

Ireland captain Séamus Coleman has “no chance” of recovering from a hamstring injury for the World Cup qualifier in Azerbaijan on October 9, according to Rafa Benitez.

Report informs, citing foreign media, that the Everton boss has been without his club captain for the last three games after Coleman suffered a recurrence of the strain which kept him out of the last international against Serbia.

Coleman (32) had started the first two games of the September international window, the defeat to Portugal and draw against Azerbaijan, but was clutching his hamstring towards the end of the latter fixture.

Although the Donegal man recovered from the knock to start Everton’s next game against Burnley, he suffered a setback in training on the eve of last week’s defeat to Aston Villa.

Coleman was also unavailable for the midweek EFL penalty shootout loss at QPR and was seen on the sidelines encouraging his teammates, dressed in his club tracksuit, during Saturday’s 2-0 win over Norwich City.

When asked about the prospects of injured trio Richarlison, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and Coleman returning in time to represent their countries during the international break, Benitez said: “No chance, no chance, no chance. They will not be available, almost 100 per cent sure.”

The Azerbaijan-Ireland match will start at 08:00 pm (GMT+4) at the Baku Olympic Stadium on October 9.