MARTIN O’NEILL FACES an anxious 24 hours as he waits to discover the severity of injuries to five of his Ireland squad ahead of next week’s Euro 2016 play-off.
The Ireland manager has this evening reduced his panel for the two-legged fixture against Bosnia-Herzegovina but uncertainty surrounds the availability of key players.
Rob Elliot, John O’Shea, Paul McShane, Alan Judge, and Shane Long will all be assessed by their respective clubs on Monday before a decision is made on whether they can report for international duty.
O’Shea is suspended for Friday’s first-leg in Zenica and is unlikely to shake off the hamstring injury which forced him out of Sunderland’s defeat to Southampton on Saturday in time for the return tie.
Shane Long, meanwhile, hasn’t played since the final group game in Poland and is touch and go but Shay Given and David McGoldrick have both already been ruled out.
The other players to be cut from the original 39-man squad are Anthony Stokes, Simon Cox, Paul Green, Eunan O’Kane, Anthony Pilkington, Greg Cunningham and Adam Rooney.
Ireland assemble in Dublin tomorrow morning as preparation begins for the trip to Bosnia. The second-leg takes place three days later at the Aviva Stadium, on Monday 16 November.
Republic of Ireland Euro 2016 play-off squad:
Goalkeepers: David Forde (Millwall), Keiren Westwood (Sheffield Wednesday), Darren Randolph (West Ham United), Rob Elliot (Newcastle United)
Defenders: Richard Keogh (Derby County), Marc Wilson (Stoke City), Seamus Coleman (Everton), Cyrus Christie (Derby County), John O’Shea (Sunderland) , Alex Pearce (Derby County), Shane Duffy (Blackburn Rovers), Ciaran Clark (Aston Villa), Paul McShane (Reading), Stephen Ward (Burnley), Robbie Brady (Norwich City)
Midfielders: James McCarthy (Everton), Jeff Hendrick (Derby County), Darron Gibson (Everton), Harry Arter (Bournemouth), Glenn Whelan (Stoke City), Aiden McGeady (Everton), James McClean (West Bromwich Albion), Alan Judge (Brentford), David Meyler (Hull City), Jonathan Walters (Stoke City), Wes Hoolahan (Norwich City)
Forwards: Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy), Shane Long (Southampton), Daryl Murphy (Ipswich Town), Kevin Doyle (Colorado Rapids)
