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07th Nov 2017

Republic of Ireland waiting for update on Jeff Hendrick’s hoop

Pain in the arse

Ben Kiely

The Republic of Ireland could really do with Jeff Hendrick against Denmark.

The Boys In Green are already down two prominent midfielders for their 2018 World Cup play-off against Denmark.

James McCarthy is out for both legs while David Meyler, who was Man of the Match in the Wales victory, will miss the match in Copenhagen through suspension.

Burnley’s Jeff Hendrick is the latest injury doubt for Martin O’Neill, who played down the knock he suffered at the weekend during Monday’s Ireland press conference.

“Jeff Hendrick came off after 60 or so minutes at the weekend. We’ll see how he is over the next few days.”

“He is hopeful and our medical team are hopeful. If the game was tomorrow he’d be a big doubt.”

O’Neill wasn’t kidding. If the game had been today, Hendrick would not have featured. He sat out Tuesday’s training session to go for a scan on a glute/lower back injury. Stephen Ward was also rested as a precaution.

With Richard Keogh and Sean Maguire already confirmed absentees through injury, Irish fans will be hopeful that the likes of Hendrick, Ward and O’Shea, who also picked up a knock at club level the weekend, will be match ready for their biggest international game of the year.

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