Soccer:While the likes of Andy Reid continue to languish in the international wilderness, Keith Treacy's apparent snub to Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has not seen the Preston winger fall out of favour with the Italian.
Treacy opted to skip the Euro 2012 qualifiers against Russia and Slovakia in order to focus on his club duties. The manner of his untimely exit before those qualifiers – Treacy said at the time that he intended “to put my feet up and relax” – had led many to believe he had dented his international prospects.
But it appears all is forgiven and Treacy has been included in a 27-man squad for the friendly against Norway later this month.
Trapattoni has included three uncapped players in his panel and while he already knows all about the merits of Seamus Coleman and Marc Wilson, he will get a closer look at Stoke striker Jon Walters for the first time.
Walters, who completed an acrimonious £2.75 million to Stoke from Ipswich during the summer, has previously been capped for Ireland’s under-21s but the 27-year-old has never been involved at senior level.
“This friendly is a good opportunity to bring some players that we have not seen much of into the squad,” Trapattoni said at today’s announcement.
“It is their chance to show me what they can contribute to the team. Friendlies are extremely important for us to continue to build the strongest squad possible for the Euro qualifiers.”
The match at the Aviva Stadium will come too soon for Aston Villa’s Ciaran Clark, who recently declared for Ireland Clark, who can play in both midfield and defence, is quickly establishing himself as a regular at Villa Park but it is understood the necessary paperwork won't be processed in time.
Stephen Hunt is back in the fold after completing his comeback from a long-term foot injury but there is no place in the squad for his former Wolves teammate Andy Keogh. Damien Duff, Darren O’Dea and Stephen Kelly, who all missed the last two matches through injury, are named in the squad for the match on November 17th.
SQUAD
Goalkeepers: S Given (Manchester City), K Westwood (Coventry).
Defenders:J O'Shea (Manchester United), S Coleman (Everton), R Dunne (Aston Villa), S St Ledger (Preston), G Cunningham (Manchester City/on loan at Leicester), K Foley (Wolves), P McShane (Hull), K Kilbane (Hull), S Kelly (Fulham), D O'Dea (Ipswich), M Wilson (Stoke).
Midfielders:D Gibson (Manchester United), G Whelan (Stoke), P Green (Derby), L Lawrence (Portsmouth), S Hunt (Wolves), A McGeady (Spartak Moscow), K Treacy (Preston), D Duff (Fulham), K Fahey (Birmingham).
Forwards: J Walters (Stoke), R Keane (Tottenham), K Doyle (Wolves), C Folan (Hull), S Long (Reading).
