Soccer:John O'Shea was back on the training ground at Malahide this morning as the Republic of Ireland step up their preparations for Saturday's Euro 2012 qualifier in Macedonia.
Given the lack of options in defence, where Richard Dunne will be missing through suspension and Sean St Ledger is struggling to overcome an ankle problem, O’Shea’s availability is a welcome boost for manager Giovanni Trapattoni.
O’Shea didn’t even make the Manchester United bench for the Champions League final last Saturday, leading to doubts about his fitness for the trip to Skopje this weekend.
But O’Shea was put through his paces alongside St Ledger today with both likely to start in the heart of the Irish defence if available.
Having rested his ankle injury over the weekend, Glenn Whelan played a full part in today’s session while Aiden McGeady was also in action after joining up with the squad yesterday. The Spartak Moscow winger missed the Carling Nations Cup matches last week due to his club commitments.
Stephen Hunt, meanwhile, has urged his team-mates to grasp the chance to become national heroes by qualifying for Poland and Ukraine. Ireland have not reached the finals of a major tournament since the 2002 World Cup in the Far East, and have suffered a number of near misses since to leave both the players and the fans desperate to end their wait.
Wolves midfielder Hunt said: “We will always be an average team until we qualify, and then we could be heroes if things go well. We will sort ourselves out, look ahead to Macedonia and take it from there.
“It will be very competitive. They kicked lumps out of us at our place, so it will be competitive, and they are at home, so it will be difficult, but we are looking to win it.”
Ireland edged a physical encounter at the Aviva Stadium in March 2-1 with skipper Robbie Keane’s strike once again proving decisive. Keane took his international tally to 49 with three goals in last week’s wins over Northern Ireland and Scotland, and will run out in Macedonia looking to reach a significant landmark.
Potential strike partner Shane Long did not train with his team-mates this morning after playing in Reading’s 4-2 Championship final defeat by Swansea at Wembley yesterday.
Long partnered Keane in the first game between the countries after Kevin Doyle limped off with a nasty knee injury, and was left with stitches in his head and ear after a bruising contest with defender Boban Grncharov.
Ireland are currently in third place in their group, but level on 10 points with leaders Slovakia and Russia in second. The Slovakians entertain pointless Andorra with the Russians hosting Armenia, who train the top three by just two points.
