Clark in as injured trio all but ruled out
Credit: Extratime Team (ETPhotos)
Ciarán Clark has been called into the Republic of Ireland squad for Friday's game against Germany and Tuesday week's trip to the Faroe Islands after Sean St Ledger was all but ruled out this morning following a scan on his hamstring injury.
The Leicester City defender picked up the strain an hour into Saturday's game with Bristol City, with Giovanni Trapattoni saying it was 'highly unlikely' he would be fit in time for the crucial qualifiers.
Clark, who Trapattoni criticised before the World Cup 2014 qualifying opener against Kazakhstan, has been in good form for Aston Villa of late with international and clubmate Richard Dunne still injured. He is expected to link-up with the squad later this evening.
Glenn Whelan is also expected to miss out on both games while James McClean has remained at Sunderland and will also miss Friday, though he may join up with the squad before heading to Torshavn after the Black Cats confirmed he suffered a grade one hip flexor strain against Manchester City on Saturday.
There was some good news for Ireland however, as Robbie Keane scored for LA Galaxy in their 2-1 defeat against Real Salt Lake overnight.
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Alan Smith works as a sub-editor for the Guardian newspaper in London. Originally from Cork, he freelances for several other newspapers and websites. Follow him on twitter @alansmith90. View Full Profile