SOCCER:GIOVANNI TRAPATTONI has drafted Cillian Sheridan into his Republic of Ireland squad for the opening two fixtures of the Euro 2012 qualifiers campaign against Armenia and Andorra.
Originally, Trapattoni had included only four recognised strikers in Robbie Keane, Kevin Doyle, Andy Keogh and Shane Long and with Doyle’s fitness problems persisting, the Italian has decided to recruit Sheridan to provide additional cover.
Doyle missed Wolves’ first Premier League game due to the calf injury sustained in the build-up to Ireland’s last match against Argentina and only made his first appearance of the season during Wolves’ draw with Everton last weekend.
Sheridan, who was on Europa League duty with new club CSKA Sofia against The New Saints on Thursday night, will join up with the rest of the Irish squad on Sunday after facing Sliven in the Bulgarian top flight.
The 21-year-old won his first senior cap against Paraguay at the RDS in May of this year and added to that tally with appearances against Algeria and Argentina. Having come through the underage ranks, Sheridan has also scored four goals in 11 appearances for the Irish under-21s.
The Irish squad will assemble in Malahide this weekend for training early next week. Trapattoni’s side face Armenia in Yerevan next Friday (4pm Irish time) and return home to play their first competitive game at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday, September 7th (7.45pm).
Meanwhile, Newcastle manager Chris Hughton was coy yesterday when asked about reports linking him with a loan move for Ireland captain Robbie Keane.
Hughton, who worked extensively with the Keane at both Spurs and with Ireland, stated “at this moment in time, that is still very much speculation.”
