EVERTON full-back Seamus Coleman will have a double target as he runs out for the Republic of Ireland under-21s against Switzerland tonight.

The 21-year-old was part of the side which saw a first European Championship qualifying victory ripped from their grasp at Tallaght Stadium on Friday evening when Georgia’s Giorgi Ivanishvili scored a late equaliser. Coleman played 86 minutes of the game just days after making his comeback from a nasty foot injury suffered on duty for his club’s reserves against Manchester United.

He revealed last week how he might have lost the big toe on his right foot had medics not dealt with an infected blister as promptly as they did.

The problem could hardly have come at a worse time for the former Sligo Rovers player, who had been involved in the senior squad at Goodison Park during pre-season and had high hopes of forcing his way into contention.

However, his injury troubles have seen him slip back down the pecking order, and now he is desperate to force his way back into manager David Moyes’s thoughts.

To that end, playing for his country can do him little harm.