Soccer

Reid and injury scare for Norway friendly

Giovanni Trapattoni's Republic of Ireland arrived in Olso ahead of Wednesday's final friendly match against Norway before they…

Mon Aug 18 2008 - 01:00

Giovanni Trapattoni's Republic of Ireland arrived in Olso ahead of Wednesday's final friendly match against Norway before they embark of a World Cup qualifying campaign.

Blackburn's Steven Reid is an injury scare after he broke down during training in Malahide yesterday and was rested when the squad worked out at the Bislett Stadium today. It remains to be seen if Trapattoni will risk playing the midfielder on Wednesday.

"Steven took a knock to his knee yesterday in training, so as a precautionary measure, we just thought it was better that he sit out the session this evening," said medical officer Alan Byrne.

"We will review the situation tomorrow, but the expectation at this stage is that he will resume training tomorrow."

READ MORE

The manager confirmed experienced players such as Steve Finnan, Kevin Kilbane and Shay Given are all in line to start in Olso. It remains to be seen if Finnan, who recently returned from international retirement, will be fit enough to feature for the full 90 minutes.

Trapattoni welcomes the opportunity to play a competitive match before upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Montenegro.

"Okay, it's a friendly but in Norway we need to have a good game so as to be ready for the qualifiers," said the manager. "We must look to play well because the season has started. I will start with Kilbane, Steven Reid, Steve Finnan and Richard Dunne. Finnan might not be able to play 90 minutes and maybe Kevin Doyle won't but I am sure Shay Given can and we will change three, four or five players during the game."

Republic of Ireland squad:

Shay Given  (Newcastle United )
Dean Kiely (West Bromwich Albion)
 
Alex Bruce  (Ipswich Town)
Damien Delaney (Queen's Park Rangers)
Richard Dunne (Manchester City)
Steve Finnan (Liverpool)
Kevin Foley (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Kevin Kilbane (Wigan Athletic)
Joey O'Brien (Bolton Wanderers)
John O'Shea (Manchester United)
 
Damien Duff  (Newcastle United)
Stephen Hunt (Reading)
Aiden McGeady (Celtic)
Liam Miller (Sunderland)
Andy Reid (Sunderland)
Steven Reid (Blackburn Rovers)
Glenn Whelan  (Stoke City)
 
Kevin Doyle  (Reading)
Robbie Keane (Liverpool)
Andy Keogh (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Shane Long (Reading)
Daryl Murphy (Sunderland)

Fixture:
Norway v Republic of Ireland
Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo
Kick-off: 6.00 pm (Irish time).
(Live on Setanta 2)