Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy yesterday brought Mark Kennedy back into the international fold when he named a preliminary squad of 30 for this month's World Cup qualifier against Andorra at Lansdowne Road.
The Manchester City winger had been left out in the cold after being expelled from the Irish panel for the trip to Amsterdam late last August following his arrest, along with Phil Babb, for damaging the car of a garda after a city-centre drinking session.
McCarthy said at the time he would consider recalling the pair once the subsequent court case was over. However, with the team performing well in the qualifying games since then and neither of the players enjoying regular first-team football with their clubs, yesterday's announcement was the first indication from McCarthy that the door is still open for them.
Whether Kennedy makes the reduced squad of 22 which will be named after the weekend's games in England remains another matter. Kevin Kilbane and Damien Duff would be well ahead of the Dubliner, and while Jason McAteer did not perform well in Cyprus, he and Steve Finnan would still look the more likely candidates for the other wide midfield places.
Niall Quinn has been named in the 30man panel after making his comeback from injury for Sunderland ahead of schedule, while Steve Carr is also back in the frame. That will probably mean Gareth Farrelly and Curtis Fleming, both of whom received late call-ups for the trip to Nicosia and Barcelona, will drop out of the squad for this month's game.
Those changes may be the most notable changes to McCarthy's 22-man panel. Kennedy's best hope of appearing would be at the expense of Rory Delap, a peripheral figure within the squad for the recent away games.
McCarthy, however, said he would leave any decision about his final squad until after the weekend. "There are two full rounds of fixtures in England over the Easter weekend and I want to be sure that everyone is available before trimming the panel.
"I also have to consider the fact that four of my key players are currently on yellow cards after our first five qualifying games. I want to be certain they will be able to take their places for our vital game against Portugal in Dublin on June 2nd."
The four include Roy and Robbie Keane, and McCarthy has not ruled out the possibility of resting one or both for this game.
The FAI, meanwhile, officially extended the current domestic season by one month, until June 30th, to facilitate the completion of the various competitions that have been disrupted by the foot-and-mouth crisis.
Ireland's Under-18 women's team lost the second of their three European Championship qualifying matches at this week's mini-tournament in the Czech Republic. The Irish were beaten 2-1 by the host nation after Fanad United's Marie Gallagher gave her side the lead after 43 minutes. The Republic has lost twice, and the team plays its final game against Norway tomorrow.
PRELIMINARY SQUAD: Given (Newcastle Utd), A Kelly (Blackburn Rovers/Stockport), Kiely (Charlton Athletic), Colgan (Hibernian), G Kelly (Leeds Utd), Staunton (Aston Villa), Harte (Leeds Utd), Breen (Coventry City), Dunne (Man City), Cunningham (Wimbledon), Doherty (Tottenham Hotspur), Carr (Tottenham Hotspur), Quinn (Coventry City), Fleming (Middlesbrough), Keane (Manchester Utd), Kinsella (Charlton Athletic), Carsley (Coventry City), McAteer (Blackburn Rovers), Holland (Ipswich Town), Kilbane (Sunderland), Finnan (Fulham), Delap (Derby County), Kennedy (Manchester City), Farrelly (Bolton Wanderers), Kavanagh (Stoke City), Duff (Blackburn Rovers), Quinn (Sunderland), Keane (Leeds United), Connolly (Feyenoord), O'Neill (Middlesbrough).
