Whatever squad Carla Ward names on Tuesday for the Republic of Ireland’s opening Nations League games against Turkey and Slovenia, it is likely to show significant changes from Eileen Gleeson’s last selection in November. That won’t, though, necessarily be by choice, retirements, injuries and players left without clubs forcing the new manager’s hand.
Niamh Fahey, Diane Caldwell and Julie-Ann Russell are no longer available after they stepped away from international football, while Ruesha Littlejohn, reserve goalkeeper Grace Moloney and Marissa Sheva are all “unattached” after being released by their clubs.
Lily Agg suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury last month, so that is her out for up to a year, while there will be fitness concerns too over Anna Patten and Jessie Stapleton.
After scoring for Aston Villa in their 3-2 FA Cup win over Brighton on Saturday, in a game that saw Caitlin Hayes make her debut for the latter, Patten hobbled off with 15 minutes to go. And Stapleton was missing for Sunderland on Sunday, a week after limping out of their league meeting with Birmingham.
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Carla Ward faces testing first squad selection as Ireland manager as injuries pile up
Still on the injury list are Louise Quinn with the hip problem that saw her miss the Euro 2025 play-off games against Wales, while Jamie Finn and Jess Ziu continue their rehabilitations from ACL injuries. And just as Manchester City’s Tara O’Hanlon was nearing the end of her lengthy recovery from a hamstring tear, she damaged her medial collateral ligament.
The arrangement of a training game between an Irish development team and an under-19 side during the forthcoming senior camp is, then, timely for Ward, giving her a chance to see first hand the younger talent coming through.
It is all the more timely because the season here does not kick off until next month, so the game gives the home-based players - they number 36 out of the 39 named across the two squads - an opportunity to catch Ward’s eye.
And plenty of those selected - including Ellen Molloy, Erin McLaughlin, Emily Whelan, Eva Mangan, Katie Keane, Ellen Dolan and Freya Healy - have either been capped before at senior level, or have received call-ups to the squad.
Glasgow City’s Whelan is among those who will be hoping for a fresh start under Ward, having not been given much of a look-in by Gleeson, the same applying to Celtic’s Saoirse Noonan, who has scored 25 goals this season for her club, as well as defenders Claire O’Riordan (Standard Liege) and Hayley Nolan (Crystal Palace).
Having had limited game time with Manchester United this season, Aoife Mannion marked a rare start with a goal in their 6-0 FA Cup win against Wolves, Abbie Larkin also having a happy time of it for Crystal Palace against Newcastle, her assist and injury time goal sending them through to the quarter-finals of the competition with a 2-0 win. Having a considerably less happy time of it with the London club is Izzy Atkinson, who hasn’t even made the bench for Palace in the last month.
Ward’s first squad selection will be a testing one.
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