International Soccer:Shane Long has been ruled out of Wednesday's European Championship qualifier against Cyprus in Croke Park.
The 20-year-old striker returned to Reading yesterday in order to receive treatment for a groin strain picked up after he came on in Saturday night's 0-0 draw against Germany.
Long made a positive impact during the 20 minutes he played on Saturday and his absence may yet prove a significant blow for manager Stephen Staunton despite the fact that Kevin Doyle is expected to recover sufficiently from foot and head injuries in time to start again.
In addition to Long, Staunton will be without Richard Dunne and Lee Carsley, both of whom must serve a suspension after picking up bookings against the Germans. On the brighter side for the Ireland manager, Paul McShane and Stephen Hunt will be available for selection next time out after serving one-match bans over the weekend.
Staunton has a handful of other concerns to mull over during the next couple of days. John O'Shea did some work in the gym yesterday but remains a major doubt for the Cyprus game because of the thigh strain that kept him out on Saturday, while Darren Potter could only take a limited part in yesterday morning's training session for the squad members who had not featured at Croke Park.
Andy Reid will receive treatment for an ankle injury between now and Wednesday, although the player, who won the man-of-the-match award on Saturday night, said after that game he expected to be fine. Kevin Kilbane may also be allowed to take it easy for a day or two after receiving stitches during Saturday's match in the wake of a clash of heads with German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Staunton, who didn't make an appearance at yesterday morning's session in Malahide, said after Saturday night's game he was pleased with the performance but very disappointed not to have won the game. Cyprus, meanwhile, warmed up for Wednesday's contest in Dublin with a surprisingly comfortable defeat of Wales in Nicosia on Saturday.
John Toshack insisted afterwards he would stay on as manager despite what was perhaps his side's worst performance of the campaign to date. The Cypriots now lie fifth in the Group D table, three points clear of the Welsh and two behind Ireland, on whom they have a game in hand.
Representatives of the FAI and IFA, meanwhile, are set to meet in Zurich today in a Fifa-organised attempt to resolve differences over the eligibility of players born north of the border to play for the Republic.
The dispute recently came to a head over Manchester United midfielder Darron Gibson who was born in Derry and, after representing Northern Ireland at under-16 level, switched his allegiance. Now 20 years old, the player made his senior debut against Denmark back in August and came on as a substitute last month in Bratislava.
Previously the right of players from the North to declare for the Republic was universally accepted but the IFA claim the situation was altered by a combination of changes to the Fifa statutes and the terms of the Good Friday agreement. It is their contention that a player born within the association's jurisdiction now has to qualify for the Republic in the same way as a player born anywhere else outside the 26 counties.
IFA officials, citing legal opinion from advisors, have expressed confidence that Fifa will find in their favour even if the Gibson case may have gone too far for the player's decision to be reversed.
Their FAI counterparts, though unavailable for comment yesterday, have previously insisted that the situation remained unchanged.
