SUNDERLAND MANAGER MARTIN O’Neill expressed his concern this evening, after Ireland defender John O’Shea went off injured during Sunderland’s game with Man United.
O’Shea departed from the action just before the half-time break, and was clutching his right leg as he left the field.
And speaking following the game, O’Neill explained that the seriousness of O’Shea’s injury had yet to be ascertained, but admitted he was worried that the defender could be out of action for a considerable period:
“As he came off, my thought was there might be a concern with him,” he said. “Maybe I’m jumping gun, but it might be a concern.”
The Sunderland defender now faces a race to be fit ahead of Ireland’s first Euro 2012 game against Croatia on June 10.
Should O’Shea fail to recover in time, Paul McShane, who is currently on Ireland’s standby list, would be the most likely candidate to take the 31-year-old’s place.
