Wes Hoolahan is definitely out of Ireland’s World Cup qualifying game against Wales on Friday with the results of the player’s scan at Norwich suggesting that he will be laid up for “quite a number of weeks,” according to manager Martin O’Neill.
“We got news of the scan through this morning and the news it not great; not great for us, not great for him and not great for his club.”
The loss of the 34 year-old further restricts the options available to O’Neill who has already lost Robbie Brady to suspension as well fellow midfielder Harry Arter and central defensive partnership Ciaran Clark and Shane Duffy.
James McCarthy remains a major doubt but the Everton player has travelled to link up with the squad. “James has come over and we’ll see how he gets on,” says the northerner.
The manager said that McCarthy is optimistic that the midfielder can overcome the hamstring problem that kept him out of his club’s defeat of Hull at the weekend but, he suggested, it remains to be seen whether he can prove his fitness in time.
Daryl Murphy is another concern for the northerner although he was more positive about the striker’s chances of being available while Seamus Coleman missed training today but, says the manager, “that was only precautionary. He took a bit of a knock but if he doesn’t train tomorrow then he will train Wednesday. Seamus will be fine.
“It’s the lengthiest list of list of injuries that I’ve known in my time in the job,” he continued, “and it’s come at an awkward time but we have other players who can step up.”
O’Neill described the sudden death of Derry City skipper Ryan McBride as a tragedy that puts sport and big football matches in perspective. “I didn’t know the young lad but James McClean is a pretty good friend of his and James is devastated by the news.
“James is probably the closest to him and his family and if there’s anything that James wants to do this week then I’ll certainly give him the opportunity to do it. It puts football and sport in some sort of perspective.”
