Republic of Ireland striker Michael Obafemi has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after it was confirmed he would require surgery on an ankle injury.
Obafemi – who joined Blackpook on loan from Burnley in January – suffered what his manager Ian Evatt described as an “innocuous” looking injury in their 4-0 defeat to Plymouth Argyle at the weekend.
It’s now been determined that he requires surgery and has returned to Turf Moor where he will sit out the rest of the campaign.
“We’ll be losing him for the rest of the season. He’s requiring surgery,” Evatt said.
“It’s another innocuous incident where he just planted his foot looking to switch the ball, and suffered a high ankle tear, which means it needs surgical intervention – which isn’t ideal at all.”
The 25-year old has struggled since leaving Swansea City for Burnley in 2023, being subsequently sent out on loan to Millwall and Plymouth.
He spent the first half of the current campaign with 2. Bundesliga side VfL Bochum where he made just two appearances.
The latest injury setback has ruled him out of the equation for the March playoff away to Czech Republic, though he has fallen down the pecking order in any case.
The Dublin-born centre-forward made the most recent of his 12 appearances for Ireland in the 2-1 win friendly win over Hungary in June 2024.
Obafemi has two goals for Ireland both during his stint as a first choice striker during the 2022 Nations League, when he found the net in the 3-0 home win against Scotland that summer and the 3-2 victory over Armenia in September of that year.
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