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."

McLeish Hails Dunne and Given

Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish has hailed his side's performance against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday and has special praise for two of his players.

The Villans drew 0-0 with their West Midlands rivals at The Hawthorns to edge closer to Premier League safety, and could have won the game had they taken their chances in the second half.

McLeish was satisfied with his players' display in the derby and is hopeful that they can get three points from their remaining two games in the league to retain their top-flight status.

"Shay Given is a world-class goalkeeper and he has made that kind of saves (like the last-minute one against Peter Odemwingie ) through his career," he told Sky Sports. "That's why we brought him here.

"What a performance from Richard Dunne - he was absolutely immense, coming off after such a long time off," McLeish further enthused.

"He trained well and we couldn't see why he should not play today."

'In our hands'

Turning to matters about relegation from the Premier League, McLeish expressed confidence and optimism.

"We still have it in our hands and we can make it work for us regardless of other results," he stated.

"We would like another win in our final two matches."

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Injured Dunne Out for a Month

Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish says Richard Dunne could be out for at least a month after injuring his shoulder in the 1-0 defeat by Manchester City.

Defender Dunne went up for a challenge with City goalkeeper Joe Hart in the closing minutes of the match at Villa Park and landed awkwardly.

"I do believe he is going to be out for at least a month, so that's serious enough," said McLeish.

"It doesn't look good and he doesn't look too comfortable."

With Ciaran Clark also out for a period of time, after damaging knee ligaments in training on Saturday, Villa are short of cover in central defence.

Meanwhile, McLeish implored Villa's fans to support his team, despite a run of results that has seen them drop to 15th in the Premier League table.

Up to 70 disgruntled supporters gathered before the game calling for McLeish to leave the club. 

"It's fashionable in the modern game and a bit of a phenomenon," said the Scotsman, formerly manager of cross-town rivals Birmingham City.

"But I'd rather they support the team if they don't fancy me. That's not under my control. What is [under my control] is getting as much as we can from the squad.

"I'm confident we can get Villa up the table again."

McLeish added that he was pleased with the effort of his players against table-topping City, despite his side losing out to a Joleon Lescott goal.

"The boys deserved something out of it, but we haven't had much luck," he said.

"The discipline of the team and the way we stuck to it was crucial to try and beat Manchester City but unfortunately we lost it on a set-piece.

"We had a chance on a set-piece but we couldn't put it in the net. That's the difference."

"I've been less than delighted with our home form but the performance level was pretty decent. Lady Luck in front of goals is eluding us but we certainly gave everything."