Trapattoni to play fringe players

The Irish squad has been further hit by withdrawals to key players in the aftermath of the team’s 2-1 victory over Macedonia on Saturday night.

Kevin Doyle picked up a knee injury which could see him miss the remainder of the season.

However, he is not the only senior player to withdraw from the squad to play Uruguay on Tuesday night with Robbie Keane, Richard Dunne, Damien Duff and Kevin Kilbane all having returned to England. The players’ returns were mostly for personal reasons, though Kevin Kilbane returned to play for his club Huddersfield on Sunday.

While Irish boss Trapattoni confirmed Kevin Doyle was the only player to be injured in last night’s game, several key players sat out training on Sunday morning with Aiden McGeady, Darron Gibson, Glenn Whelan, Shane Long and Kieran Westwood all watching from the sidelines. Darren O’ Dea trained separately from the squad but is believed to be in contention to start against the South Americans.

Despite requiring two stitches to his face, striker Shane Long should also play some role in Tuesday night’s game.

On the subject of the match with Uruguay, Trapattoni refused to name his starting line-up though it is understood some of the fringe players will be given a chance given the high number of withdrawals. He confirmed: “I have a lot of trust in them (younger players in squad). I want to see how the younger players play and behave. It’s a very good opportunity for them. He later added: “This is an injection of trust in them.

The Italian confirmed Kieran Westwood will start against Uruguay. “He needs to become comfortable in the squad”, Trapattoni stated. Kevin Foley also looks set to hold onto his place at right back with James McCarthy likely to be handed his first start for his country on Tuesday night.

Cillian Sheridan and Anthony Stokes have been put on stand bye as both Kevin Doyle and Robbie Keane’s withdrawals deepen Ireland’s already depleted strike force.

When questioned about Saturday’s night game, Trapattoni conceded Ireland did drop off the pace as the game progressed but believed Ireland’s victory was never under any serious doubt: “They (Macedonia) kept the ball more in the second half, but didn’t create many chances.”

Looking to the future, Trapattoni remains confident Ireland can progress from the qualification group as winners: “I am very confident we can achieve number one (top spot in the group).

Ireland’s next game in Group B is a return trip to Macedonia. The manager revealed a trip to Skopje in June holds no fear over him and is confident of picking up another three points from that game. He said: “If the team is in this condition, we have a very good opportunity to win that game as well.