MARTIN O’NEILL BELIEVES it will be vital to have a number of back-up plans in place for this summer’s Euro 2016 finals as he says injuries in the run-up to the tournament are inevitable.
The Ireland manager names his final 23-man squad for France in a month’s time and there are already question marks over several players due to various fitness issues.
Brentford midfielder Alan Judge will definitely miss out after suffering a double leg break, Seamus Coleman of Everton has been sidelined with a hamstring injury for the past two weeks, Bournemouth’s Harry Arter hopes to recover in time from an Achilles problem, while Stoke forward Jon Walters is on the mend after minor knee surgery.
Shay Given has also picked up a groin injury after getting back into the Potters team, and there was further bad news for club mate Marc Wilson yesterday as he limped out of a behind-closed-doors game while attempting to prove his fitness after damaging knee ligaments in January.
“I’d say there were a couple of places up for grabs,” O’Neill said at TV3 studios yesterday. “These kind of things are going to happen closer to the tournament.
“Seamus Coleman has picked up a hamstring injury. It’s almost inevitable that they will happen and you have to be ready for them.
“I think the only way to look at it is to keep an open mind. Naturally, you start formulating a few plans at the back of your mind.
“Next week, we’ll be into May and start planning ahead — thinking about what might develop.
“Obviously, you have to take into consideration that some of your key players might get injured and what sort of contingency plans are you going to put in operation. It wouldn’t just be me thinking about that.”
O’Neill attended Sunday night’s PFA Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London and spoke on stage with England manager Roy Hodgson, Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill and Wales’ Chris Coleman.
I met Roy Hodgson on Sunday evening with Chris Coleman and Michael O’Neill,” he added. ”I think we’re all of the same mind. It would be great now if key players could stay clear of injury or clear up injuries as is the case with Seamus Coleman.
“It was a nice evening at the PFA Awards. They had all four of us on stage in commemoration of the four sides making it – I think for the first time. I was going to say if Scotland had made it, we might not have done so!”
Judge was named in the PFA Championship Team of the Year for his exploits with the Bees and O’Neill has been left to curse the unfortunate timing.
“Naturally I’m very disappointed because he’s a really fine little player in really fine form for the last season and a half,” he said. “He was making inroads and certainly he was one we were considering.
“He was trying to make an impact, he was doing very well at Brentford and then he gets this injury. I spoke to him a few times just before and after the operation.
“He seemed groggy the next morning but he’s a determined lad. He said he’s been given a certain amount of time to recover but will recover before that.”
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