DAMIEN DELANEY HAS been ruled out of tomorrow evening’s friendly against Serbia with a calf injury.
The Crystal Palace defender had the niggle when he joined up with the squad and has been sent back to his club to continue his recovery.
“He’s picked up a little injury on Sunday and we thought it’s not worth risking him here,” Ireland manager Martin O’Neill revealed today and added: “We don’t want to incur the wrath of his manager.”
With the club season reaching its climax, the March international break is an untimely headache for managers.
O’Neill has plenty of experience on the other side of the club-v-country fence and has already shown a common sense approach this week with his decision to rest veteran defender Richard Dunne.
He praised the club managers for their cooperation at a “really exceptional time” in the season.
O’Neill said: “As a club manager I didn’t race around phoning the international manager up but if he phoned me, I’d just say to be careful.
“When I was speaking to John [O'Shea] my famous words to him, whether he won the game or not, was just come back and don’t be injured.
“The fact that a lot of the players have turned up for this game speaks volumes for them and also for the fact that, even though this is a really exceptional time for the managers and clubs, the managers have allowed them to come on it.”
