DENIS IRWIN will today be named in the Republic of Ireland's squad for the World Cup qualifying assignment with Romania, in Bucharest on April 30th, in spite of on-going injury problems.
Irwin was left out of Manchester United's starting line-up against Derby a week last Saturday, because of a groin injury sustained in Ireland's World Cup defeat in Macedonia.
The need to mobilise all his experienced players meant that Alex Ferguson pressed him into service at Borussia Dortmund last week but, significantly, he was again marked absent for the 3-2 win over Blackburn Rovers last weekend.
A decision on whether he plays against Liverpool in the top of the table Premiership game at Anfield on Saturday is still awaited, but in spite of the doubts, Mick McCarthy will have no hesitation in naming Irwin in his preliminary squad for Romania.
His inclusion will increase the punitive end-of-season demands being placed on the player who could find himself involved in as many as nine pressure games in the space of just 49 days.
In that period, Manchester United complete their Premiership programme with games against Liverpool, Leicester, Middlesbrough, Newcastle and West Ham. If they retrieve their 1-0 deficit to Dortmund next Wednesday they will be headed for a coveted appearance in the final of the European Champions Cup final against either Juventus or Ajax on May 28th.
Add in Ireland's World Cup fixtures against Romania and Liechtenstein and it ensures that the full back will have earned his summer break by the time his club season ends, hopefully, with that European final date in Munich.
"It's the kind of pressure that players at all successful clubs can expect to face and the feeling at Old Trafford is that we would rather have it than be without it," Irwin said yesterday.
"It's a big programme for every player at the club, but in the case of Roy Keane and myself, the two international games will break it for us."
Keane's schedule is only marginally lighter for after that controversial second Champions Cup booking in Dortmund, he is now automatically suspended for the second leg of their semi-final tie.
Middlesbrough are also headed for a hectic few weeks with their involvement in League Cup and FA Cup replays accentuating the pressures of protecting their Premiership status.
Curtis Fleming, who has made such an important contribution to the biggest season in Middlesbrough's history, is unlikely to make the Ireland squad for Romania after being left out of the squad for the ill-fated Macedonian expedition.
The likelihood is, however, that his club mate, Alan Moore, who can provide cover for both midfield and attack, will be included when McCarthy announces his travelling party today.
It is also expected that Niall Quinn, yet to start a first team game for Sunderland since recovering from a cruciate ligament operation, will be selected for the first time in seven months.
