Steve Finnan is out of the Republic of Ireland's European qualifier against Slovakia on Saturday but manager Steve Staunton is hoping the defender will be fit for the Czech Republic game this day week.

Finnan's participation had been in doubt all week after he sustained a knee injury in Liverpool's 6-0 demolition of Derby County last weekend.

While his international colleagues arrived at their Dublin team base on Tuesday, Finnan remained on Merseyside for treatment.

Earlier today Staunton said Finnan's participation on Saturday was "unlikely" but the manager received word tonight that the 31-year-old would definitely not play.

"He will stay in Liverpool for treatment and we will continue to monitor his progress. If he improves, he may join us in Prague," said Staunton.

Finnan is the fourth member of the original 25-man panel to withdraw due to injury. Darren Potter also misses the Slovakia game but could yet feature in Prague but Wayne Henderson and Alan O'Brien are out of both games.

John O'Shea - who could replace Finnan at left back - shipped a knock to a knee in training this morning but the Manchester United defender is not considered a serious doubt for either game.

Paul McShane, who again played a limited role in training as he recovers from a shoulder problem, hopes to be involved at the weekend.

"It was pretty sore at the time and I can still feel it a little bit but I'm sure I'll be okay for Saturday and Wednesday," the Wicklow man explained.

"It's a quite annoying injury because every time you get a whack on it, there's crippling pain. If you get a contact on it, it could set you back a few days so I've got to give myself the best possible chance of playing.

"The shoulder is getting better as each day goes by."

Ireland play Slovakia in Bratislava on Saturday before travelling to Prague for Wednesday's game with the Czechs.

Republic of Ireland under-21 manager Don Givens reports no late injury concerns among his 18-man squad ahead of Friday's European qualifier against Portugal at Turner's Cross.

The visitors are top seeds in a tough group and therefore strong favourites to progress, a fact not lost on Givens.

"It's going to be a very tough game," he said. "Portugal are a great side. They have always been very strong at underage level.

"But," he added, "we also have a strong side and we have had some very encouraging results lately, so confidence is high."