Wednesday, 23 May 2012

Three Amigos Miss Bosnia-Hercegovina



Republic of Ireland defensive trio Richard Dunne, John O'Shea and Sean St Ledger are set to miss Saturday's friendly against Bosnia-Hercegovina.

St Ledger has joined Dunne, who has a lower abdominal micro-tear and O'Shea, who has an ankle problem, on the sidelines with a groin strain.

St Ledger may still be involved but stand-by defender Paul McShane has been called up for the game.

Full-back Kevin Foley has not trained all week with a hamstring problem.

Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni is unwilling to risk the longer-term fitness of those players with less than three weeks to go before their opening Euro 2012 fixture against Croatia.

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Shay Given is unlikely to be risked at the weekend as he continues his recovery from a knee problem with Sunderland's Keiren Westwood the next man in line.

Given will travel to London on Thursday to consult a specialist over his knee injury, with the Republic management insisting he "remains fine for the Euros".

Given, who has won 121 caps, has undergone a scan on a knee injury picked up in training.

The Republic take on Bosnia on Saturday before travelling to their pre-Euro 2012 training camp in Italy.

O'Shea, Dunne and St Ledger are all likely to be fit for the game against Croatia.

Republic skipper Robbie Keane linked up with the squad on Tuesday morning after arriving from the United States and trained later in the day.

Keane is reported to have been bothered by a minor hamstring strain in recent weeks although this has been played down by the Republic management.

“Surely, he is the future, but maybe it is possible also this time”Republic of Ireland assistant manager Marco Tardelli on James McClean

Keith Fahey, who has been nursing a groin problem, is expected to be fit for the weekend while a decision on Foley will be taken later in the week.

Shane Long, Jon Walters and Keith Andrews all trained on Tuesday evening after sitting out the morning session.

Meanwhile assistant manager Marco Tardelli has refused to rule out James McClean's chances of earning starts in the tournament.

Trapattoni named the Sunderland winger in his 23-man squad but has been cautious about the 23-year-old's emergence.

However, Tardelli has pointedly praised McClean's work ethic.

"He is strong physically and I think he will be a good player for us," said the Italian. "He is a good boy. He wants to work because he knows he needs to learn many things."

McClean has enjoyed a remarkable six months since establishing himself as a first-team regular under Martin O'Neill on Wearside.

The former Derry City player was recognised at senior international level when he won his first cap as a substitute against the Czech Republic in February.

Trapattoni has signalled his intention to work with the left-sided McClean on the right flank too, having seen him prosper when cutting inside for his club.

On Monday, Tardelli was non-committal on McClean's chances of earning starting roles in the group games against Croatia, Italy and Spain.

"I don't know. He is in the squad, but we have also other players like Damien Duff, like Stephen Hunt, like Aiden McGeady.

"Surely, he is the future, but maybe it is possible also this time."


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