REPUBLIC OF IRELAND youngster Troy Parrott is closing in on a return from the injury he suffered during his debut for Millwall.

However, Millwall manager Gary Rowett isn’t keen on the prospect of the 18-year-old attacker being rushed back into action during the forthcoming international window. 

The Tottenham Hotspur loanee has been absent since sustaining an ankle injury while making his first competitive appearance for the Championship club against Burnley in the Carabao Cup on 23 September.

“Troy is not far away. He’s back into modified training with the group, starting to join in with training in its entirety, although we’re not doing a lot of training which makes it a slight challenge,” Rowett said today.

The Ireland senior team will conclude their Uefa Nations League campaign with fixtures against Wales and Finland, which are scheduled for 15 and 18 November respectively.

The U21s are also facing into crucial games on the same dates, as they aim to keep their European Championship qualification hopes on track by defeating Iceland and Luxembourg.

Parrott starred for the U21s last year under current senior manager Stephen Kenny, before being handed his full international debut by Mick McCarthy in a friendly against New Zealand last November.

Rowett added: “Possibly he’ll go away with Ireland, although I don’t think that’s necessarily the best course of action. But I don’t think we can necessarily stop him from being called up.

“It might be that, worst-case scenario, it gives him a chance to get some more training and get some game-time as well, so we’ll see. I’m hoping that certainly by the end of this international break he’ll be back fully fit and ready and available.”

Ireland boss Stephen Kenny is due to name his senior squad on Thursday, which will be followed on Friday by the announcement of Jim Crawford’s U21 squad.