Martin O'Neill is set to be without both Glenn Whelan and Wes Hoolahan for the critically important European Championship qualifier against Scotland in Glasgow next month, with both midfielders sidelined for several weeks.
Whelan limped out of Ireland's dramatic draw in Germany last week shortly after being caught in the leg by Lukas Podolski as the Arsenal player followed through on a shot. Stoke City boss Mark Hughes has now confirmed the Dubliner has a fracture and will be sidelined for up to six weeks, completely ruling him out of November's internationals.
“Glenn unfortunately has a fracture in his leg,” said Hughes towards the end of his weekly press conference today. “He picked it up in the international game. There is a slight fracture, but he hasn’t been put into a plaster cast. We feel that he can come back sooner by avoiding that. It is a blow for him and it is a blow for us because we are likely to be without him for four to six weeks. It is disappointing but thankfully we have options in there.”
O'Neill does, too, and one of them, whether he would have played or not, would have been Hoolahan, who seems likely to miss out as well. Norwich City boss Neil Adams was a little less clear on the timeframe regarding Hoolahan's recovery following the injury he sustained while playing for his club against Fulham last weekend, but the numbers don't add up for Ireland duty.
“Wes went to see the specialist on Wednesday,” said Adams today, “and he’s going to be out for a number of weeks. It’s ankle ligament damage, as we first feared. It’s a shame, obviously you keep your fingers crossed but it’s going to be number of weeks before he’s back with us unfortunately.”
The Scotland game is three weeks away which is very tight for Hoolahan if the injury is remotely serious, as he would almost certainly have to be fit enough to feature for Norwich the previous weekend in order to be released.
The 32 year-old was by far the less likely of the pair to start the game but having come on in Germany and had a role in the late equaliser he would have certainly been hopeful of featuring again.
Whelan, meanwhile, leaves a vacancy in the starting 11 and that might lead to Everton pair Darron Gibson and James McCarthy starting together if they are both fit at the time.
Although, Jeff Hendrick and Stephen Quinn would also have strong claims.
McCarthy and Séamus Coleman both returned for Everton last weekend and O’Neill will be hoping the pair avoid any further problems during the weeks ahead.
Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock, meanwhile, has confirmed that Damien Delaney, whose contract expires at the end of this season, has been offered a new deal but that he has yet to accept. "He's a good leader for us in the dressing room," he said yesterday. That's why we have offered him a new contact. At the moment he hasn't signed it but the contract is there on the table."
