Ireland hit by triple injury blow

16 March 2013 20:46

Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni was hit by a triple injury blow on Saturday as Aiden McGeady, Anthony Pilkington and Paul McShane were ruled out of his team's World Cup qualifiers against Sweden and Austria.

Spartak Moscow winger McGeady was named in Trapattoni's provisional 29-man squad but was forced to pull out due to a knee injury.

The Football Association of Ireland also confirmed Hull defender McShane, who has an ankle injury, and Norwich winger Pilkington, sidelined with a hamstring strain, will miss the trip to face Sweden in Stockholm next Friday and the clash against Austria in Dublin four days later.

Meanwhile, in naming his final 23-man squad, Trapattoni culled four players from the provisional group, dropping West Ham defender Joey O'Brien, Reading defender Alex Pearce and Wolves duo Stephen Ward and Kevin Doyle to standby duty.

Millwall striker Andy Keogh, who was not originally selected, receives a call-up to the squad that assembles on Sunday in Malahide.

"As a manager, I am sometimes faced with some very tough decisions, but I feel that the squad I have chosen will get us the results we need from these two qualifiers," Trapattoni said.

"I have not made these choices lightly and will continue to monitor each player's progress ahead of our next challenges in May and June."

Source: AFP