Graham Kavanagh has been called up to the Republic of Ireland squad ahead of the crucial Euro 2004 qualifier away to Switzerland on Saturday week.
The Cardiff City captain, who has been central to the Bluebirds good start to life in the First Division, was brought in by manager Brian Kerr to bolster the midfield following a string of impressive performances.
"He's been playing well for Cardiff and is an essential player for how they [Cardiff] operate," explained Kerr. "I watched him a lot last season and frequently this season, he runs the game for them." added Kerr.
He is included in the 22-man squad at the expense of defender Richard Dunne who has been ruled out with an ankle injury.
Dunne picked up the knock during Manchester City's UEFA Cup first round, first leg win over Belgian outfit Lokeren last week.
The defender played just 20 minutes of that game and complained of soreness in his ankle afterwards. City's medical staff gave the Dubliner an injection yesterday afternoon to speed up the recovery but the club face a race against time to have him fit for next week's second leg.
Kerr would not be drawn when asked if he expects Kavanagh to start in Basel, but did say every member of his squad will have the chance to impress in training.
"I expect all my players to be challenging for places all over the pitch and I'll always be influenced by what goes on in training," said the manager.
Kavanagh's last involvement with the Irish squad came when he was named by former manager Mick McCarthy on stand-by for the World Cup qualifiers away to Cyprus and Andorra in March 2001.
However, the 29-year-old was not part of the travelling party for the games which were played in Nicosia and Barcelona.
Spurs striker Robbie Keane is also back in the squad after making a full recovery from an ankle injury he suffered in the friendly against Australia at Lansdowne Road in August.
Despite recent speculation about the potential role of Celtic's Liam Miller, the 22 year old has again missed the cut.
The Cork man came off the bench to score Celtic's first goal in Tuesday's 2-0 Champions League win over Lyon - a performance which has earned the player a new contract at Parkhead.
Kerr did confirm, however, that Miller, along with Bohemians striker Glen Crowe, Nottingham Forest's Andy Reid and Sunderland's Thomas Butler, among others, have been put on standby in case selected squad members are forced to withdraw between now and next weekend's qualifier.
"These players [on standby] have played in the underage teams for a few years now and I don't think anyone knows them better than I do. I have considered them, their form has been watched and monitored on a weekly basis and we know how they're doing," Kerr explained.
"It's not a game for throwing people into their first international match, there's so much at stake in it. I don't think it would be the right occasion. It's an experienced squad that I've picked and they've been the core group. . .I've had no reason to leave them aside."
Kerr has been boosted by defender Gary Breen's return to fitness and form. The Sunderland defender, who the manager described as being in "great form", picked up a groin injury in last month's defeat at Stoke but a swift return to action followed and Breen turned in a man-of-the-match performance in Sunderland's 3-2 win over Ipswich on Tuesday.
Ireland must get a result in Basel if they are to have any hopes of reaching the Finals in Portugal next year.
Squad in full:
Gary Breen, Stephen Carr, Lee Carsley, Nicky Colgan, David Connolly, Gary Doherty, Damien Duff, Steve Finnan, Shay Given, Ian Harte, Colin Healy, Matt Holland, Graham Kavanagh, Robbie Keane, Kevin Kilbane, Mark Kinsella, Stephen McPhail, Clinton Morrison, Joe Murphy, Andy O'Brien, John O'Shea, Steven Reid