EURO 2012:IT IS hard to imagine a more cruel way for Kevin Foley's season to end than yesterday's news he will not after all be travelling to the European Championships with the Republic of Ireland squad.

Having recovered from the hamstring injury that had threatened his place, the Wolves player, who has already suffered relegation from the Premier League in recent weeks, looked set to make it past Giovanni Trapattoni’s final cut.

However, lingering doubts about the fitness of Ireland’s first-choice centre halves, Richard Dunne and Seán St Ledger, appear to have cost him his place.

Foley was given the news by Trapattoni around half an hour before yesterday’s noon deadline for official squads to be submitted to Uefa. He initially wanted to leave the Irish team hotel immediately, it is said, describing the news as “like a kick in the balls,” but he went back to the manager later in the day and told him he wanted to stay on for last night’s game in Pistoia, apparently so he could prove his fitness.

By then, Trapattoni had already informed Paul McShane, Foley’s replacement for the European Championships, he would be starting but the Italian told Foley he would be brought on for the second half. The player agreed and reportedly informed the 73-year-old he would then leave for home today. Trapattoni asked that he remain on contract but it seems Foley, who was understandably upset, has yet to make a decision on the matter.

McShane was only drafted in as defensive cover for Saturday’s game at the Aviva Stadium against Bosnia-Herzegovina late last week but, after doing well in that game, Trapattoni appears to have decided the Hull City player’s ability to cover central defence rather than midfield, where Foley tends to deputise, makes him a more attractive option.

It is a terrible blow for Foley, who was later seen sitting alone in a park near the team hotel in Montecatini where he was apparently calling friends and family to tell them the bad news. It was also a big call by Trapattoni.

The enormously likeable 27-year-old had been a loyal member of the squad for some time before the Italian handed him his debut in the friendly against Nigeria in London in May 2009. But despite adding a further seven caps to his collection, and making two appearances during the qualifying campaign, he has never managed to establish himself as a core member of the group.

Trapattoni regularly singles him out for praise and clearly values his versatility but the player has simply been unfortunate that the manager’s pre-tournament injury concerns have, in the coach’s eyes, made McShane the more logical choice.

“With the injuries that we experienced in the squad over the past week, I have had to make a tough decision when it comes to naming the 23 players that must be submitted to Uefa for the championship,” said Trapattoni in a statement issued through the FAI yesterday.

“Kevin Foley, John O’Shea, Paul McShane, Darren O’Dea, Shay Given had all been carrying knocks and we have been monitoring them closely in their recovery.

“Although Kevin has been recovering well, I have made the difficult decision to leave him out of the 23-player list after completing fitness tests on John O’Shea and Paul McShane this morning.

“I have spoken to him and I understand how difficult it is, saying that he can remain with the squad if he wishes.”

Speaking to The Irish Times recently, Gary Waddock, who was left out of Jack Charlton’s squad for the Italia ’90 finals in somewhat similar circumstances and who has since gone into club management, observed that there is no way of softening the blow as a coach has a duty to pick what he sees as his best squad for the tournament.

“There’s no easy way of doing it,” he said. “The manager’s got to make a decision then live or die by that decision.

“There are two sides to it. The manager’s supposed to be loyal to the players who have got him to the tournament and at the same time he has to pick the best possible squad to play there.

“In the end that’s the most important factor, though, he has to pick the strongest squad,” added Waddock.

The decision to replace Foley with McShane when submitting his final list to Uefa is the second switch made by Trapattoni since he named his preliminary squad on May 7th, with Keith Fahey already forced to withdraw because of a groin strain and Paul Green called in instead.

Trapattoni has suggested Green may have a significant part to play against Spain, but it is difficult to see McShane featuring that much unless the manager suffers further injury setbacks.

Stephen Kelly and Darren O’Dea would be expected to come in ahead of him at right back and centre back in the event that a more established player is not fit enough to start and the Italian seldom makes unforced changes at the back during competitive games.

There are no other surprises in the squad, with Trapattoni handing what is widely regarded as his first choice starting line-up from numbers one to 11.