Ireland are down one midfield tyro.
James McClean looks set to spend a spell on the sidelines after he posted a picture of his arm in a cast.
The Stoke midfielder was included in Ireland’s 26-man squad for games against Wales and Poland, on Monday, but looks to have picked up a bad knock. On his Instagram account, he posted a picture with the comments:
‘Next step surgery… f**k it! One of those things.’
The 29-year-old, who scored his first goal for The Potters last week, has 10 goals in 59 international appearances and is a driving force of Martin O’Neill’s Ireland.
There is no official update forthcoming from the FAI at this stage but McClean being out leaves Ireland’s midfield options like this:
Alan Judge (Brentford), Jeff Hendrick (Burnley), Conor Hourihane (Aston Villa), Alan Browne (Preston North End), Shaun Williams (Millwall), David Meyler (Reading), Daryl Horgan (Hibernian), Callum O’Dowda (Bristol City).
We could do with a Declan Rice or a Harry Arter right now.
UPDATE: The FAI confirmed the band news regarding the Derry native shortly after 2:30pm:
Squad Update | James McClean has been ruled out of our UEFA Nations League opener with a wrist injury sustained in training. The midfielder will undergo surgery today. We wish James a speedy recovery. #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/bh5nK1sPmO
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) September 4, 2018
