Shay Given has travelled to Qatar in an attempt to get himself fit for Euro 2016.
Speaking to reporters in Paris on Thursday morning Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill said the 39-year-old goalkeeper had gone to the Middle East to undergo surgery on the knee injury sustained in the 1-0 win over Germany in October.
Limited to just two League Cup appearances for Stoke City this season, Given is in danger of slipping behind current jersey holder Darren Randolph, Newcastle first-choice Rob Elliot and either David Forde of Millwall or Sheffield Wednesday’s Keiren Westwood.
“Shay has got to try to get himself fit,” said O’Neill at a Euro 2016 press conference in the French capital. “He’s gone out to the Middle East and we’ll see what the consequences of that are.
“He’s played a big part for us since he came out of retirement, though. He’s been an exceptional goalkeeper for us; just an exceptional goalkeeper, so we’ll monitor his situation.”
While Given has returned to training with Stoke, he faces a race against time to be fit for the friendlies with Switzerland (March 25th) and Slovakia (March 29th), with the squad expected to be named for those on Friday week (March 11th).
“I think (goalkeeping coach) Seamus McDonagh is in close contact with him,” said O’Neill. “Again, he hasn’t played really since coming off against Germany and that’s a fairly lengthy period of time but if he’s making good progress then we’ll see how he goes.”
