Jeff Hendrick expects to be in tip-top shape for Euro 2016

Republic of Ireland midfielder Jeff Hendrick says he confident of being fully fit in plenty of time for Euro 2016.

Having missed the friendlies against Switzerland and Slovakia, he hopes he will get the opportunity to remind Martin O'Neill what he can bring to the team before the manager decides on his travelling party.

The Dubliner was back home yesterday for the announcement by DeafHear that he will be working as an ambassador to help promote their services and also to encourage young players with hearing loss to play for the Irish Deaf Soccer team.

He says he is getting over the shoulder and quad problems that have sidelined him in recent weeks and aiming to return for Derby’s final games of the season, as the club pushes for promotion to the Premier League.

“It’s coming along well,” he says. “They said initially that it would be up to five weeks but at the end of the first week I started a bit of light jogging. Now I have to progress that and hopefully I can get back a bit sooner and have a good run with Derby at the end of the season.

Selection

“Initially, they said [I wouldn’t be fit until] after the last game of the season and to get ready for the playoffs if we are in them. But for me, I’d like to get back in the week leading up it where I can get a week’s training and then be up for selection for the game. [I’d like to] get a few minutes in that game if it was possible.”

Derby, who are in fifth place in the Championship table, 10 points off second place but seven clear of seventh, look all but certain to be in the playoffs, and those games that would offer Hendrick the chance to get some football under his belt before France. Should Derby crash out in the semi-finals, the 24-year-old is hoping to be involved for the game against the Netherlands after which, O'Neill has said, he will settle on his final list of 23.

Hendrick insists that he is anxious about whether he will make the cut but barring another injury setback, he looks to be a sure thing after a campaign in which, having missed Ireland's opener, he played more minutes than any but a handful of key players – Jon Walters, John O'Shea and Robbie Brady – and made crucial contributions in some very big games.

Nightclub

Beyond that, there is a charge for violent disorder to deal with relating to an incident outside a nightclub a couple of years back, which he denies; and though he hopes it doesn’t come to it, potentially a decision to make on his club career if Derby miss out again on promotion to the Premier League.

“Yeah, that’s where I want to go now,” he says. “I would love to get there with Derby, obviously, this summer; it would be a great achievement. I have played a lot of games in the Championship and now I have played a good few games internationally, the next step is to try and see how I can do in the Premiership; it’s somewhere I do really want to go.

“We’re still in a good position with Derby, we’re fifth in the league and have a run of games now to get some confidence going and cement our place in the playoffs. We’ve had a disappointment in the playoffs before; hopefully we can put that right and go up that way.”