Shamrock Rovers' Brandon Kavanagh called up to Ireland under-21 squad after Simon Power pulls out

Shamrock Rovers midfielder Brandon Kavanagh has been drafted into the Ireland under-21 squad ahead of Sunday’s European Championships qualifier against Luxembourg in Tallaght.

The 18-year-old had been on standby for the original squad and comes in in place of Simon Power after the Norwich City winger was ruled out with a calf strain.

Kavanagh started for a home-based team against an Irish amateur selection in February and scored the only goal of the game as Kenny kicked off his reign with a win.

He's the third Rovers player to be called into international action this week with Trevor Clarke also in the under-21s and Jack Byrne in the senior squad, although Friday's trip to Finn Harps is expected to go ahead as planned.

Power’s withdrawal is the second such blow in two days for Kenny ahead of his first competitive outing as Ireland boss after Tottenham Hotspur striker Troy Parrott failed in his fitness battle.

The highly-rated Buckingham Street man has missed the past number of weeks with a toe injury that required surgery, and he was absent as Spurs crashed out of the UEFA Youth League against Porto.

Power is also highly-rated by the Canaries and he was sent on loan to Dutch second-tier side Dordrecht before Christmas to gain senior experience.

“He came in with a calf problem, a grade one tear,” Kenny explained of Power.

“We’ve only just assessed it and we are in talks with his club, Norwich City. He is likely to be out for two weeks.”