IRELAND BOSS Giovanni Trapattoni will undergo a stomach operation this afternoon, according to the Football Association of Ireland.

The FAI said this lunchtime that the 71-year-old manager had been complaining overnight of abdominal pain, having been hospitalised in the early hours of Tuesday morning with nausea and vomiting.

It is understood that the pain is being caused by the rupture of scar tissue left behind from a previous surgery the Italian has undergone.

The surgery will take place in the Mater Hospital, where Trapattoni is staying, at 3pm. His illness has been attributed to undercooked shellfish eaten by the manager in Italy at the weekend.

Earlier the FAI had said the manager’s overnight recovery had been “slightly behind expectations” and that he was to be sent for x-rays this morning.

Trapattoni’s assistant, Marco Tardelli, will take charge of the Ireland team for tonight’s friendly against Argentina in his absence.

The manager’s health concerns are a worry ahead of the national side’s forthcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers, which kick off with an away game against Armenia in three weeks’ time, on September 3.

Trapattoni’s first experience of the new Aviva Stadium will now come on Wednesday 7 September when the side face Andorra.