Michael Obafemi endured a tough start to life at Swansea City.
The striker joined the Swans from Southampton on transfer deadline day last summer but desperately struggled to impress the current coaching staff. Such were his struggles, Obafemi found himself in and out of the team, with the 4-0 loss to Bournemouth in November serving as a pivotal moment for the forward after he was dropped from the squad altogether.
But following a tough festive period, Russell Martin saw signs that Obafemi was close to turning the corner. Since netting the winner against Blackburn Rovers on February 5, the frontman bagged six goals in nine outings for the Swans having only scored once in his first 15 appearances in all competitions for the club.
He was expected to be included in the Republic of Ireland squad for their contests with Belgium and Lithuania, although there were suggestions that he snubbed a call-up from his country's under-21s, something senior boss Stephen Kenny denied. And Kenny has confirmed the 21-year-old's continuous concerns over hamstring injuries ensured he was left out of the Irish double-header in Dublin.
"To be honest, Michael was never in the picture to be in this under-21s squad," said Kenny. "I went to Swansea v Bristol City, Cyrus [Christie] scored, Michael scored and I spoke to Michael after the game and I had a good conversation with him this week.
"He would have been considered if he was available. He wasn't available for selection. The truth of it is, Michael has never played three games in a row before this year for his club. He's not played three games consecutively in his career. The reason for that is the persistent hamstring troubles he's had in his career. He's been dogged with hamstring injuries, he's such an explosive player.
"He's found a manager who believes in him in Russell Martin. Michael's managed to stay fit and looks a real threat in recent weeks and got two very good goals against Coventry and backed that up the other night [against Peterborough].
"It's been a heavy load for him. He feels his load is so heavy, he's concerned about getting re-injured coming into the international team. He feels he needs to spend time with the physios to make sure he continues in the same vein of form. He wants to play for Ireland, but the degree of anxiety he feels around coming in this week with his injury load, that's why he's not considered."
Obafemi's team-mate Christie was also left out of the Ireland squad, although Ryan Manning - who has served three matches of a four-game club suspension - is included. And Swans boss Martin admits Obafemi has taken a short-term hit in not travelling to Ireland to ensure he can finish the season strongly with his club while putting himself in a better place to deliver the goods on the international stage in the long term.
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"I spoke to Stephen [Kenny]. We chatted at length about Ryan, Cyrus and Michael," said Martin. "He was really interested in calling Michael up this time. We both had a chat with Michael about the timing of it and what place he’s in physically. He’s played more football than he has done for a long time and we all agreed in the end it’s best he waits until the summer.
"He has a chance here to get some work in that we need to physically for him to maintain what he's been doing. I just don’t think he wants anything to disrupt the flow he’s in here. He's really desperate to be involved with Ireland in the long term.
"He's probably having to take a short-term hit now to make sure that he can impact us between now and the end of the season and hopefully them moving forward. We’ve had lots of communication and hopefully at some point he becomes involved."
Ben Cabango has been included in the Wales squad for their World Cup play-off semi-final with Austria and their friendly on March 29 while Olivier Ntcham earned a call-up to the Cameroon camp for the first time. Finley Burns is with England's Under-19s squad while Cameron Congreve is with the Wales Under-18 squad.
