Defensive duo rested

Slight niggles prevented Richard Dunne and Seán St Ledger from training with the Republic of Ireland squad in Malahide this morning, but both are expected to resume training soon and in plenty of time for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Italy at Croke Park.

Dunne played and scored in Aston Villa's 1-1 draw with his old club Manchester City on Monday night but sustained a knock to the ankle in the process, while St Ledger is carrying a thigh injury.

"Richard has got a bruised ankle, and that's why he hasn't trained this morning, but we fully expect him to be fit for the weekend,” said Liam Brady said of Dunne at Gannon Park this morning. "He will possibly join in tomorrow or the day after."

St Ledger, he added, “has a bit of a stiff leg” but “will be training okay this afternoon and carry on for the rest of the week, so we don't envisage any problems with those two players.”

Damien Duff is among a number of players that will not be able to take on the world champions but assistant manager Brady says there remains a possibility the Dubliner could feature against Montenegro this day week.

Duff was yesterday reported by Fulham to be out of the reckoning for both games but that is not necessarily the case, says Brady, though he's keen to point out there is no conflict with the London club.

"Damien is going to be staying at Fulham for another couple of days and maybe on Friday, we will make a decision regarding Montenegro,” said the former Ireland midfielder.

"No (conflict). If we want him over, we will get him over and that will depend on what the medical people at Fulham are saying and what the player is saying, and then we will make a decision maybe on Friday.

His absence on Saturday offers the chance for either Stephen Hunt or Liam Lawrence to impress in a competitive international and if today’s session is anything to go by, it could be the latter who gets the nod, after the Stoke midfielder ended the run out on the team with the regualr starters.

Italy need just a point to win Group 8 on Saturday, while Ireland need a win if they are to retain any hope of sneaking into automatic qualification ahead of the Azzurri.

Brady is expecting Ireland’s status as underdogs to breed a very different atmosphere at Croke Park this weekend.

“Well I think - and I see it when I go to game at Arsenal or sometimes I go to Spurs and up to Manchester United - when they’re expected to beat a team the crowd are very rarely at their most supportive.

“We’ve played Georgia at Croke Park, we’ve played Cyprus at Croke Park, I think people have come along saying, well, you’ve got to beat these. This will be totally different.

“We’re playing the world champions. We need to beat them to have a chance of topping the group. I expect Croke Park to be totally different to anything we have seen so far.”

Ireland need two points in total to ensure a playoff place for the finals in South Africa next year but some senior players – Shay Given and Kevin Kilbane included - have voiced their displeasure with Fifa’s late decision to introduce seeding.

Brady, however, was not about to dwell on the development today and instead insisted the plan remains the same.

“We’ve always wanted to top the group. Unfortunately, Italy have carried on winning. We had hoped that the Georgians might do something and then the Bulgarians going to Italy might do something but it wasn’t to be so we’ve got to get six out of six and then hope that Cyprus get something but that’s what we’re aiming for.”