Adam Idah is facing a race against time to be fit for the Republic of Ireland's World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan on Saturday.

The striker, who will have been targeting this game and a friendly against Qatar as an opportunity to open his senior international account, has been struck down with a fever and is a doubt for the game in Baku.

Idah has returned negative coronavirus tests but is confined to his hotel room as a precaution.

Derby midfielder Jason Knight has also come down with the illness and Ireland boss Stephen Kenny admits the pair face a race against the clock to be passed fit for Saturday's game.

“Their temperatures were quite high and they were not well enough to train," explained Kenny.

“It's just probably from the travel. Adam has a high temperature and is confined to his room. Jason, who is as tough as anything, just has a very high temperature and is unwell.

“They passed all the tests, receiving negative results from their antigen tests and PCR tests but we will have to see if they can train tonight.

“These are things that you cannot control. The nature of these things is that we have to name our matchday squad tonight,” Kenny told the Irish Examiner.

Idah is one of nine City players set to be involved for their countries on Saturday.

Teemu Pukki is still looking to break Finland's all-time goal scoring record and sits just two behind Jari Litamanen's record of 32 goals. City's talisman is likely to feature as they welcome Ukraine to Helsinki hoping to leapfrog them into second place in Group D.

The Canaries' Greek duo Dimitris Giannoulis and Christos Tzolis are poised to add to their tally of international caps against Georgia. The game kicks off at 5pm with coach John van 't Schip under increasing pressure due to poor results.

Grant Hanley will miss Scotland's clash against Israel due to suspension but both Kenny McLean and Billy Gilmour are set to be involved for Steve Clarke's men. A victory for the Tartan Army would provide them with some breathing space in second place of Group F.

Kosovo's chances of World Cup qualification look slim but Milot Rashica will still be hoping he can help them cause an upset when they travel to Sweden on Saturday. The City winger's side have only won one of their opening five fixtures.

Elsewhere, Przemyslaw Placheta could feature for Poland for their clash against San Marino on Saturday but has just returned to training after a lengthy battle against coronavirus symptoms.

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