– Paul Dollery reports from Cardiff
ALAN BROWNE HAS been ruled out of the Republic of Ireland’s fixture against Wales tomorrow evening at Cardiff City Stadium.
The Preston North End midfielder has sustained a calf injury ahead of Ireland’s opening game in the inaugural Uefa Nations League.
“It was okay a couple of days ago but he’s in a little bit of trouble, which is not ideal,” said Ireland boss Martin O’Neill, who also admitted that his starting line-up is likely to feature a debutant.
Browne is the latest addition to a long list of absentees for Ireland. James McCarthy, Robbie Brady, James McClean, Shane Long, Sean Maguire and Scott Hogan are also injured, while Declan Rice and Harry Arter have both made themselves unavailable indefinitely.
Having been named Preston’s player of the season for 2017/18, Browne has made a promising start to the new campaign. After netting the winner in their opening-day meeting with Queens Park Rangers, the 23-year-old midfielder scored again — a spectacular volley — in Saturday’s draw with Bolton Wanderers.
The 23-year-old Corkman was in line to win his first competitive cap, having already featured on three occasions in friendlies.
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