SOCCER:JAMES McCLEAN is set to make the Republic of Ireland's squad for the European Championships, Giovanni Trapattoni has revealed, but at the expense of a more established squad member who has apparently told the Italian he will not be able to make the journey.
The Ireland manager refused to name the player or provide details of his difficulty, insisting that he could not say anything until next week, but the tone of his comments suggested that the issue is a personal one rather than one of fitness.
Still, injury problems encountered recently by the likes of Darron Gibson, Keith Fahey and Stephen Hunt prompted immediate speculation that one of those might be the player in question
Asked about the prospect of McClean, who scored for Sunderland in the 2-2 draw with Bolton on Saturday, being included in the 23-man squad he will name next Monday, Trapattoni said that the young winger is “90 to 99 per cent” sure of a place on the plane.
But, it quickly became apparent, the improved outlook for the 23-year-old has more to do with the misfortune of another player than with his consistently strong form over the course of his first few months in the English Premier League.
Initially Trapattoni was coy on the matter, with the manager continuing after his answer to the McClean question: “I can’t tell you everything, we need to wait. Maybe next week you will understand what I am saying today.”
Pressed, however, on whether what he was getting at was the fact that another player has already indicated that he will not be able to travel, whether because of an injury or for other reasons, he paused briefly before replying: “Can we wait seven days? It’s a serious question and it needs a serious answer but today I’m not in a position to give you that. At this moment we have this situation. I cannot say the name but at the moment we have this situation.”
Thoughts immediately turned to Fahey, the Birmingham City midfielder who has been out for the last couple of weeks with a groin injury but it is understood that he was simply rested by Chris Hughton to ensure his fitness for the Championship play-offs.
Hunt has been dogged with injury problems this year and recently had a hernia operation, although he has spoke confidently about his fitness in a number of recent interviews and came on for the closing stages of Wolves’ remarkable 4-4 draw at Swansea on Saturday.
Trapattoni’s tendency to tightly compartmentalise the different areas of the pitch ahead of the selection, suggested it would have to be a wide player that the manager was talking about if McClean was going to come on, although it is possible that Gibson, who has also had his injury problems and who came off at half-time for Everton on Saturday, is the one in question, with Fahey being re-categorised as a central midfielder.
More worrying, though, is the prospect that the issue involved is a personal one, which would explain the extreme reluctance of Trapattoni or other association officials to reveal details, and that one of Ireland’s more established stars, perhaps Damien Duff or Aiden McGeady, is the player concerned.
Sources close to Duff suggested yesterday that it is not the Fulham player but the situation in relation to McGeady, who has been playing for Spartak Moscow recently, if not especially well, remained unclear. There has, however, been no public indication of any kind that the former Celtic star might not be available for the trip to Poland and Trapattoni actually name-checked both players and indicated he believes they will be available.
Trapattoni revealed his delight with the news that Richard Dunne came through his first game back from a collarbone injury in Aston Villa’s 0-0 draw at West Brom.
He said: “I was worried. He will be important for us. All players in the squad are important, but especially Richard Dunne. For us, he is one of the strongest.”
