Soccer:Just days after Irish manager Giovanni Trapattoni told those players outside his current squad of 24 players to be patient, he has called up Shane Duffy to replace the injured Richard Dunne.
The Football Association of Ireland has confirmed that following the news that defender Dunne suffered a fractured clavicle in Aston Villa’s clash against Manchester City yesterday, and would be unavailable for the foreseeable future.
As a result Everton defender Duffy has been called into the quad to face the Czech Republic in the International friendly match on February 29 in Aviva Stadium.
Villa expect Dunne, who is due to have an operation today, to be out of action for around two months. “Richard Dunne sustained a fracture to his right clavicle in the game against Manchester City," the English club said today.
“He will undergo an operation today in Birmingham. It is anticipated that he will be sidelined for up to eight weeks.”
Duffy, who was told by Trapattoni along with Anthony Pilkington and Robbie Brady that they could all expect to be considered favourably if they maintained their club form, will join up with the Irish squad for training, three days before the match on February 26.
James McClean, who spoke with the Irish manager last Thursday, but was another name not included in the squad, showed further promise and goal scoring form over the weekend when he scored the first goal in Sunderland’s 2-1 defeat by Arsenal.
