WITH JUST 50 days to go until the European Championships, Marco Tardelli won’t rest easy until Ireland’s injury worries get the green light to make their comeback.
Richard Dunne, Stephen Hunt and Keith Fahey are all still out of action, adding another unwanted complication as Giovanni Trapattoni and Tardelli try to settle on a 23-man squad for the tournament.
Hunt is still recovering after deciding to have surgery on a recurring groin problem earlier this month while Fahey limped off with a similar problem after just 36 minutes of Birmingham’s 2-2 draw at Bristol City last weekend.
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“I’m not very happy because we have many injured players,” Tardelli told a media briefing in Dublin this afternoon. “It’s a problem.”
The update on Dunne this week was marginally better. After missing more than two months with broken collarbone, the centre-half is expected to resume full training at Aston Villa within the next few days .
Although he might not see too much first-team action between now and the end of Villa’s Premier League season, Tardelli expects him to be fit and ready in plenty of time for the summer.
I’ve spoken with him and I think he will be with us, maybe also on 17 May. Richard Dunne is starting to prepare. I think it’s very important for us that he will be fit for the cup.
Injuries aside, whittling the panel down from a competitive 30 to the lucky 23 will be one of the tougher tasks Tardelli has faced during his time with the Irish squad, and he was quick to counter the suggestion that the decision has already been made, save one or two final places.
James McCarthy is one fringe player to catch his eye of late. He’s only been capped three times, but McCarthy’s metronomic performances at the heart of the Wigan midfield during the Latics’ recent Premier League run have not gone unnoticed.
He has “the personality and the understanding of where the ball is,” Tardelli explained. “He plays very well and he passes the ball immediately. It’s good. He’s also physical.”
He offers as much in defence as attack, the Italian added, even if he’s not always asked to do so by Roberto Martinez.
I think the manager asks him to do this. Maybe if another manager ask him to do another thing, I think he’s good for everything on the pitch.
When they’re not agonising over those final seats on the plane, Trapattoni and Tardelli are keeping tabs on the state of play with their Group C opponents.
There may be personnel similarities between the Barcelona side which lost to Chelsea last night and the Spanish team which will meet Ireland in Gdansk this summer, but Tardelli won’t be ringing Roberto Di Matteo for any tactical advice.
Every day me and Giovanni watch a DVD and sometimes we go to live matches, so we know [the opposition] very, very well. We know that that the teams are strong.
We think it’s better to press Spain. Barcelona is a different team. Spain have different players, without Messi who is very important. I think to play against Barcelona is difficult. Chelsea played a good match but I think Barcelona deserved to win.
Ireland's injury list giving Tardelli Euro headache
WITH JUST 50 days to go until the European Championships, Marco Tardelli won’t rest easy until Ireland’s injury worries get the green light to make their comeback.
Richard Dunne, Stephen Hunt and Keith Fahey are all still out of action, adding another unwanted complication as Giovanni Trapattoni and Tardelli try to settle on a 23-man squad for the tournament.
Hunt is still recovering after deciding to have surgery on a recurring groin problem earlier this month while Fahey limped off with a similar problem after just 36 minutes of Birmingham’s 2-2 draw at Bristol City last weekend.
“I’m not very happy because we have many injured players,” Tardelli told a media briefing in Dublin this afternoon. “It’s a problem.”
The update on Dunne this week was marginally better. After missing more than two months with broken collarbone, the centre-half is expected to resume full training at Aston Villa within the next few days .
Although he might not see too much first-team action between now and the end of Villa’s Premier League season, Tardelli expects him to be fit and ready in plenty of time for the summer.
Injuries aside, whittling the panel down from a competitive 30 to the lucky 23 will be one of the tougher tasks Tardelli has faced during his time with the Irish squad, and he was quick to counter the suggestion that the decision has already been made, save one or two final places.
James McCarthy is one fringe player to catch his eye of late. He’s only been capped three times, but McCarthy’s metronomic performances at the heart of the Wigan midfield during the Latics’ recent Premier League run have not gone unnoticed.
He has “the personality and the understanding of where the ball is,” Tardelli explained. “He plays very well and he passes the ball immediately. It’s good. He’s also physical.”
He offers as much in defence as attack, the Italian added, even if he’s not always asked to do so by Roberto Martinez.
When they’re not agonising over those final seats on the plane, Trapattoni and Tardelli are keeping tabs on the state of play with their Group C opponents.
There may be personnel similarities between the Barcelona side which lost to Chelsea last night and the Spanish team which will meet Ireland in Gdansk this summer, but Tardelli won’t be ringing Roberto Di Matteo for any tactical advice.
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Euro 2012 Giovanni Trapattoni Injury James McCarthy Keith Fahey Marco Tardelli Republic Of Ireland Richard Dunne Stephen hunt