Doyle, Reid & Elliot ruled out of Serbia game

KEVIN DOYLE and Andy Reid will miss the chance to impress Martin O’Neill as the duo have been forced to withdraw from the Republic of Ireland squad for Wednesday’s game against Serbia at the Aviva Stadium.

O’Neill is now working off a panel of 26 players as goalkeeper Rob Elliot has also pulled out because of a knee complaint.

Doyle and Reid had been named in what was the first Irish panel named by O’Neill, after they had been included for the November friendlies against Latvia and Poland in a panel named for O’Neill by the interim manager, Noel King.

Doyle headed for the periphery during the latter part of Giovanni Trapattoni’s tenure, but has been showing good form lately again. Now on loan to Queen’s Park Rangers from Wolves, Doyle played the full game today as they drew 1-1 with Leeds United at Loftus Road.

Doyle set up Jermaine Jenas’s equaliser in the second half, but a thigh injury has forced the Wexford man to pull out of the mid-week friendly.

Reid had ended a five-and-a-half-year exile in October, but the in-form Nottingham Forest midfielder is unable to report for duty at Malahide tomorrow. Although an FAI statement confirming his absence has cited a groin injury, Forest manager Billy Davies confirmed last week that Reid had to have a hernia operation.

The initial diagnosis was that Reid would be out for six weeks, but in his post-match press conference following today’s 4-1 defeat by Wigan at the City Ground, Davies said he expected Reid to return ‘in the next ten days’.

“There are currently no plans to call up any replacements,” an FAI statement read. “Updates will be issued later this evening should there be any developments on the squad.”

Republic of Ireland squad: David Forde, Darren Randolph, Richard Keogh, Marc Wilson, Seamus Coleman, John O’Shea, Alex Pearce, Stephen Kelly, Damien Delaney, Richard Dunne, James McCarthy, Ciaran Clark, Stephen Ward, Glenn Whelan, Paul Green, Aiden McGeady, Anthony Pilkington, James McClean, Stephen Quinn, David Meyler, Wes Hoolahan, Shane Long, Daryl Murphy, Jon Walters, Anthony Stokes, Simon Cox.