Soccer:Richard Dunne has named on a standby list for the Republic of Ireland squad ahead of the World Cup 2014 qualifiers against Germany and Faroe Islands next month.
The Aston Villa defender has not played this season after surgery on his groin and Giovanni Trapattoni says he needs to play at least one club game between now and the first international against the Germans at Aviva Stadium on October 12th if he is to have any hope of featuring in the upcoming international break.
The manager would not be drawn today on who might deputise for Dunne against Germany in the event that he is unavailable but with a team of such quality on the way to Dublin, it is sure to be his main concern.
Manchester youngster Robbie Brady is also waiting in the wings after a hugely impressive debut against Oman earlier this month, when he scored one and played a crucial role in two of the other three Ireland scored in the Craven Cottage friendly.
Keith Andrews is back in contention for a starting place after the suspension that ruled him out of the fortunate 2-1 win over Kazakhstan in Astana nearly three weeks ago, and that will leave him with the decision on whether to retain James McCarthy in midfield after three consecutive starts this month or reinstate arguably his best performer at Euro 2012 in Poland last June.
Republic of Ireland squad (23)- Goalkeepers:K Westwood; D Forde, D Randolph. Defenders:M Wilson, J O'Shea, S St Ledger, D O'Dea, S Ward, S Kelly, P McShane. Midfielders:G Whelan, J McCarthy, K Andrews, K Fahey, S Coleman, A McGeady, A Keogh, J McClean. Strikers:R Keane, K Doyle, S Long, S Cox, J Walters. Standby:R Dunne, R Brady
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