Espanyol’s Steve Finnan has been ruled out of the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria and Italy after sustaining yet another hamstring injury. The former Liverpool defender has endured a miserable run with injuries this season and will again miss out on international duty.

Finnan had originally been selected in Giovanni Trapattoni’s Republic of Ireland squad for last month’s Georgia game but withdrew through injury.

Having recovered from that problem, and assuring the manager of his fitness, Trapattoni named the 32-year-old in his 26-man squad earlier this week.

However, Finnan since suffered a recurrence of a hamstring injury and will not be available for the double-header.

Ireland face Bulgaria and Croke Park on Saturday week before travelling to Bari the following Wednesday. Currently level on points with the Italians, the matches will have a huge bearing on their World Cup fortunes.