Boost for the Hoops with positive news on Mannus and Greene

Shamrock Rovers goalkeeper Alan Mannus is on the mend after breaking his finger at the beginning of May during the Hoops 2-0 win in Derry.

Stephen Bradley confirmed on Thursday that Rovers’ record clean sheet goalkeeper is on his way back.

“Alan's splint has been taken off his finger so he's now basically just on the rehab stage of getting ready to play, which is a real positive,” said Bradley on shamrockrovers.ie ahead of Friday’s Dublin Derby at Dalymount Park.

Since the injury in Derry, Leon Pohls has deputised in goal keeping six clean sheets (including that Derry match where he saved a penalty) from nine league matches. The German has conceded just five goals.

Mannus’ record is 105 clean sheets from 215 League of Ireland games. In all competitions, he has played 269 matches earning 125 shutouts.

The Hoops come into Friday’s game six points clear of second placed Derry City having gone into the break winning three in a row without conceding a goal.

They won 4-0 at home to UCD last time out just before the break with Aaron Greene going off with an injury that had Rovers fans feeling fearful.

However, the Hoops Head Coach confirmed that Greene’s injury wasn’t as bad as they suspected.

“Aaron Greene thankfully wasn't a break, just badly bruised ligaments but I imagine another week and he'll be back.

"It's good news on both because Aaron's, we feared the worst and when you see Aaron he doesn't usually come off or anything like that, so hopefully he's okay.”

World Cup Warm-up Preview: Republic of Ireland -v- Zambia https://t.co/x7JpGHlNHbpic.twitter.com/eoU8KILOAI

— Extratime.com (@ExtratimeNews) June 21, 2023