Paul Fennessy reports from Dalymount Park

JACK BYRNE, Neil Farrugia and Markus Poom returned from injury last night, as Shamrock Rovers drew 1-1 with Bohemians.

All three players made substitute appearances, though Rovers had another injury worry to contend with, as Poom replaced Dylan Watts in the 35th minute.

“Dylan looks like a hamstring [injury],” Hoops boss Stephen Bradley said afterwards. “We have been worried about Dylan for a few weeks as he has played nearly every minute and we have been looking for opportunities to take him out.

“We took him out Monday early but he’s the one that we flagged about 10 days ago as a staff that we knew he was in the red zone, in real danger. But with the bodies the way they were, he’s been playing and unfortunately it’s gone but hopefully not too bad.”

On the other hand, Bradley was relieved at the much-needed reinforcements to his somewhat depleted squad.

Estonia international Poom was back after missing the last three games. By contrast, Byrne and Farrugia — who both came off the bench in the dying minutes as Rovers searched unsuccessfully for a winner — were longer-term absences.

Farrugia had been unavailable since picking up a shoulder injury in the season opener against Dundalk. Meanwhile, it was Byrne’s first match of the campaign and he also missed a substantial chunk of the end-of-season run-in last year.

“It was good to get them on, especially Jack,” Bradley added. “He’s been out a long time and then nearly came back and had a little setback, so it’s great to have him on the pitch. He felt good and had no issues afterwards.

“It’s the same with Neil.  Neil has been really quick [getting back] and Markus also felt good. We didn’t rush him for Monday [against Drogheda], so it was good to get him back. We are getting there and should have a few more back next week.”

Byrne, winner of successive PFAI Players’ Player of the Year awards in 2019 and 2020, has proven a key player for Rovers when fit.

However, it is almost a year since the Dubliner last completed 90 minutes — which also happened to be a Premier Division draw with Bohemians at Dalymount Park on 23 June 2023.

Bradley is unsure when the recuperating 28-year-old will be ready to start a match for the Hoops.

“It’s going to depend on his lungs and match fitness. It’s different training and running to playing out there and 90 minutes at intensity. It’s completely different and only time will tell.

“We will try and build him up over the next few weeks and thankfully we have a lot of games, which allow us to do that. Hopefully, on Monday [against Waterford] we can get more minutes into him and keep building him and as soon as he’s ready, he plays.”

One of the main reasons for the length of Byrne’s absence has been the difficulty in identifying the precise problem.

“It came from his back down to his knee, calf. We had him everywhere — the main specialist in Europe, we had him in London, had him everywhere at different clubs just trying to get to the bottom of it.

“It looks like we’re there now and it’s just about getting him back up and ready to go. It’s a long season and only early, so we’ll spend time building him.”

The late introductions of Byrne and Farrugia could not inspire the reigning champions to victory, as they missed the chance to go level at the top with Shelbourne.

Bradley, whose side largely controlled the second half and missed some decent chances, felt it was a case of two points dropped: “We should win the game. Second half they had very little. I can’t remember anything in our box or even on target. No, we’re frustrated we didn’t win the game.”