John Egan remains an injury concern in advance of the European Championship qualifier against France in Paris on Thursday.
When Egan arrived into the Republic of Ireland camp in Dublin last Sunday night, the Irish medical team sent the Sheffield United captain for a scan on knee and ankle damage he sustained against Everton on Saturday.
The stand-in Ireland skipper, as Séamus Coleman is also injured, may need to be replaced by Shane Duffy, who was recalled to the squad after signing and playing for Norwich City, or Josh Cullen, who captains Burnley in the Premier League.
“We are speaking in theoretics,” said Cullen after a light training session in Abbotstown. “I don’t know. Obviously we hope John is going to be fit and, knowing the type of person that he is, we know he will do everything to be fit.
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“And yet, if I was to be given the armband on Thursday or at any point further down in my national career it would be right up there as one of the proudest moments of my life.”
Andrew Omobamidele, following his £11 million-plus add-ons move from Norwich City to Nottingham Forest, has been added to the group as cover.
Nathan Collins and Dara O’Shea, both of whom joined new Premier League clubs – Brentford and Burnley, respectively – this summer, look certain to start at Parc des Princes with Egan’s position potentially filled by Omobamidele.
Ireland manager Stephen Kenny has spoken about getting “one big win” against France in Paris or at home to the Netherlands on Sunday, if his side are to remain in contention to qualify for the Euros in Germany next summer.
In June, Ireland beat Gibraltar 3-0 following opening Group B defeats to France at the Aviva Stadium and Greece in Athens.
[ Stephen Kenny craves ‘one big win’ for Ireland to salvage Euros campaignOpens in new window ]
“I feel like we are well in the group,” said Cullen. “We know we are going to have to win games, and win games against very good sides, but I feel like we are well in the group. We believe in ourselves going into the game on Thursday and going into the game on Sunday, that we can do something special.
“I think we showed that in the first performance against France [a 1-0 defeat at the Aviva Stadium last March], that we can definitely match them. It is something we are looking forward to doing on Thursday.”
If Ireland fail to gather any points, never mind achieve a famous win under Kenny against nations ranked second and seventh in the world, they will be out of contention to qualify for the Euros. This could create a situation where FAI chief executive Jonathan Hill must oversee dual recruitment processes for the men’s and women’s senior managers.
“One of the main characteristics that any player has to have to get to a professional level is resilience,” added Cullen. “You have to be able to bounce back from disappointing moments and defeats.
“And also not get too high when you’re winning games as well. Just try to keep that constant mindset of working hard every day and looking forward to the next challenge. That’s something that we definitely try to do.”
