Aoife Mannion injury adds to Ireland manager Vera Pauw’s World Cup worries

Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw already had enough to be worrying about with a number of her players either struggling with injuries or only just back in action after lengthy lay-offs, so she could have done without learning that Aoife Mannion has suffered a “small tweak” to her medial collateral ligament in training with Manchester United.

United manager Marc Skinner insisted, though, that Mannion hasn’t suffered any “structural damage”, telling the BBC’s Emma Sanders that he is hopeful that she’ll need “no more than a few weeks recovery” and that she should still be in contention for a place in Pauw’s World Cup squad.

The centre back only returned to action in January having suffered two anterior cruciate ligament injuries in the space of 27 months, making her Irish debut against China in February after switching allegiances from England.

She won a second cap against the United States in Austin last month, in a 2-0 friendly defeat, but impressed Pauw sufficiently in both outings to suggest that she was a certainly for her World Cup 23.

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Pauw has other concerns about the fitness of her defenders, left back Megan Campbell missing her fifth game in a row for Liverpool last weekend, while her team-mate Niamh Fahey played 45 minutes in that WSL fixture having been out injured since February.

Savannah McCarthy only got back to action for Shamrock Rovers earlier this month after a year out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, while Chloe Mustaki made her comeback for Bristol City in April after a groin problem had left her sidelined since December.

Meanwhile, Campbell is among four members of Pauw’s squad who will be on the look out for new employers after their WSL clubs announced that they would be released after the expiry of their contracts at the end of the season. Campbell will leave Liverpool, Megan Connolly and Megan Walsh will depart Brighton, while Ruesha Littlejohn will be let go by Aston Villa after an injury-blighted season.

Connolly’s release is the biggest surprise of the three, the 26-year-old Cork woman having been a regular in the Brighton side, often captaining it, since joining them in 2019 after her time at Florida State University.

Ireland will take on Colombia in a behind-closed-doors game that will serve as a final warm-up fixture ahead of their World Cup campaign. The contest is scheduled to take place in Brisbane on July 14th, six days before Pauw’s side face co-hosts Australia in Sydney in their opening game. It will complete a build-up that also includes warm-up matches at Tallaght Stadium against Zambia (June 22nd) and France (July 6th).