It’s the news that we’ve been expecting since Monday night.
When Jon Walters spoke to RTE’s Tony O’Donoghue on Monday after Ireland’s 1-1 draw with Sweden it seemed clear that the Stoke forward was not going to be fit for Saturday’s clash against Belgium in Bordeaux.
In fact, it seemed unlikely that Walters would play again in the tournament, though understandably no one in the Ireland is going to admit defeat and send him home when we still don’t know how long our tournament is going to last. Sure, he could easily be back fit for the final on July 10!
But with less than 24 hours to go before this crucial game, Ireland manager Martin O’Neill has finally confirmed that Walters will not feature against the Belgians and so he will be forced to make at least one change to the starting XI that performed so well against the Swedes.
Martin O'Neill has arrived in stadium in Bordeaux. "We will have to make at least one change as Jon Walters is not going to be fit."
— Dion Fanning (@dionfanning) June 17, 2016
James McClean is the favourite to start in place of Walters, though there are other options available to O’Neill.
Stephen Ward could come in at left back, allowing Robbie Brady to push into midfield.
Or else O’Neill could keep Brady in the position where he played so well against Sweden and instead bring in someone like Stephen Quinn to bolster numbers in the middle of the park.
O’Neill likes a surprise so it’s not an impossibility that Daryl Murphy or even Aiden McGeady come into the side
Who would you like to see start in place of Walters? Tweet us and let us know.
