THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION of Ireland have elaborated on Sinead Farrelly’s absence from the first squad of the post-Vera Pauw era.
The 33-year-old was not included and listed among the injured players for Ireland’s upcoming Nations League matches against Northern Ireland and Hungary.
However, Farrelly on Saturday featured off the bench during her club Gotham FC’s 2-0 win over Washington Spirit.
When contacted by The 42, an FAI spokesperson said that the nature of Farrelly’s injury meant she was unable to undertake long-haul flights.
The statement read: “Ahead of selecting the Ireland Women’s National Team squad for the opening games in the Uefa Nations League, the WNT medical staff were informed by NJ/NY Gotham that midfielder Sinead Farrelly was suffering with back spasms and that a long-haul flight to link up with the Ireland squad was not advisable.
“As a result, Sinead was not included in the 25-player squad. The medical advice still stands that her existing injury would be further aggravated should she travel, so Sinead will not join the Ireland squad for this camp.”
Pennsylvania-born Farrelly resumed her football career in the summer of 2022 after an eight-year break. After declaring for Ireland, the former US underage international earned her first call-up in April 2023 and has since won five caps, starting all three of the team’s World Cup matches.
Speaking after Ireland’s last match in the tournament against Nigeria, Farrelly said she was looking forward to the next chapter: “The way that we ended now just leaves us hungry to get back into camp, keep working, keep getting better. Our potential is just continuing to increase and we want to just keep challenging ourselves.
“I love this group, I love these girls. I just think the sky’s the limit and we’re just going to keep getting better.”
Additional reporting by Emma Duffy
