Clark moves closer to debut as Keane forced to withdraw

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND SQUAD:CIARAN CLARK might yet make his international debut for Ireland this side of Christmas after being added to Giovanni Trapattoni's squad for next Wednesday's friendly against Norway at the Aviva Stadium but Robbie Keane is out of the game with the Irish skipper withdrawing from the fixture due an ankle injury.

The FAI said yesterday that Aston Villa’s Clark had been added to the group “after the latest updates from Fifa this morning indicated that there is still a chance they may be in a position to consider his application to play for the Republic of Ireland in time for the match”.

Given the 21-year-old’s dramatic progress of late at Villa Park – he played all 90 minutes of the 3-2 won over Blackpool in midweek and continues to show potential in a number of different roles – Clark is likely to be warmly received by an Ireland manager anxious to augment his selection options with first-team regulars.

Keane, of course, is not one of those at present but his importance within the Ireland set-up is pretty hard to question and Trapattoni will be disappointed to lose the team’s top scorer for a game he admits to being anxious to win on the basis of the momentum it would restore after the defeat by Russia and draw in Slovakia last month.

The striker has featured just twice for Spurs since those games and last featured in the 2-0 defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford, where he was taken off just over an hour in.

Despite his difficulties, former Ireland striker and skipper Frank Stapleton believes his fellow Dubliner should ignore the January transfer window and redouble his efforts to regain his place.

“I would try and stick with it get his head down and try and stick at where he is,” he said while appearing at the launch of flytothegame.com. “There are still good opportunities and the answer is not always about moving away.

“I know he has not got any playing time recently but if they get a run of games when they are not scoring and not winning matches the manager has got to look to inject some fresh legs.”

Keane’s absence looks increasingly likely to pave the way for Stoke City striker Jonathan Walters to make his full international debut, not least because Caleb Folan has made his by now traditional withdrawal due to injury.

Folan’s Hull City club-mate Paul McShane is also out injured while Seamus Coleman of Everton and Stoke’s Marc Wilson are the other players hoping to make first appearances at this level.

SQUAD:Shay Given (Manchester City), Keiren Westwood (Coventry); John O'Shea (Manchester Utd), Ciarán Clark (Aston Villa), Séamus Coleman (Everton), Richard Dunne (Aston Villa), Seán St Ledger (Preston), Greg Cunningham (Manchester City), Kevin Foley (Wolves), Kevin Kilbane (Hull), Stephen Kelly (Fulham), Darren O'Dea (Celtic); Marc Wilson (Stoke), Darron Gibson (Manchester Utd), Glenn Whelan (Stoke), Paul Green (Derby), Liam Lawrence (Portsmouth), Stephen Hunt (Wolves), Aiden McGeady (Spartak Moscow), Keith Treacy (Preston), Damien Duff (Fulham), Keith Fahey (Birmingham); Jonathan Walters (Stoke), Kevin Doyle (Wolves), Shane Long (Reading).