It’s been a long road back for both of them.
It was by no means the biggest story of the FA Cup third round – Virgil van Dijk will understandably steal most of the headlines – but it was great to see Irish duo Stephen Ireland and Alan Judge return to competitive action after their enduring some horrendous luck with injuries.
Ireland made his first appearance for Stoke since May 2016 as the Potters lost 2-1 to Coventry City. Unsurprisingly, Ireland didn’t last the full 90 minutes but he was unable to help ease the pressure on under-fire Potters boss Mark Hughes, who is teetering on the brink after a wretched run of form.
A first return to competitive in over 2⃣0⃣ months for Stephen Ireland at the Ricoh Arena.#SCFC 🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/ax3bM3DKmR
— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) January 6, 2018
Regardless of the result, Ireland’s return was encouraging and pleasing for us. The former Manchester City midfielder has been out of action after suffering a gruesome leg break in training for Stoke 20 months ago. It’s been a long road back for the 31-year-old but let’s hope he can steer clear of any further setbacks and get a run of games under his belt.
The same can be said for Judge. The 29-year-old Dubliner has been out for 21 months after breaking his leg in April 2016. Judge, whose only Republic of Ireland cap came in a friendly against Switzerland a month before his injury, returned for Brentford but, not unlike Ireland, it wasn’t exactly a day to remember as The Bees lost 1-0 at home to Notts County.
The former Blackburn Rovers man came on as a 70th-minute substitute and, while he was unable to help swing the tie back in Brentford’s favour, the winger will be hoping that he can re-establish himself in the first-team.
An emotional moment at Griffin Park as @10judgey returns to action after 21 months out injured#BEESNOTTS pic.twitter.com/fJMRBRzPy8
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) January 6, 2018
