Irish player of the week

Out of sympathy we're tempted to give the Player of the Week award to the hapless Terry Phelan who started his first game for…

Out of sympathy we're tempted to give the Player of the Week award to the hapless Terry Phelan who started his first game for Everton in 22 injury-wrecked months on Tuesday night, in a League Cup match at Oxford. Twenty-three minutes later he was carried off the pitch after a kick on the thigh left him with heavy bruising and internal bleeding. The injury is not as bad as first feared but Phelan is expected to be out for a couple of weeks.

The League Cup provided 18-year-old Thomas Butler, 14 years Phelan's junior, with happier memories midweek - the midfielder from Tallaght made his debut for Sunderland in their game against Walsall.

However, Tranmere's David Kelly (right) takes our award after scoring a second-half hat-trick in a 5-1 win over Coventry in the same competition, and he made it four goals in two games with another against Portsmouth on Saturday.

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan is a sports writer with The Irish Times