Sunderland central defender John O’Shea is scheduled to meet with the Republic of Ireland squad for the Euro 2012 training after undergoing a scan last Sunday.
The Black Cats manager Martin O’Neill had previously claimed that O’Shea could be a doubt for the European Championships after picking up an injury on the last game of the season. The player was seen limping off during the 1-0 defeat to Manchester United at the Stadium of Light.
However, after undergoing a scan it has emerged that O’Shea is fit to join up with the Republic of Ireland squad for preparations for the European competition. It was initially believed O’Shea had aggravated a calf problem, but Sunderland confirmed it was merely an ankle injury.
A spokesman revealed in an interview:
“John suffered a knock to his ankle in training prior to the Fulham game, which he aggravated slightly in Sunday's game against Manchester United.
He was taken off as a precaution and following positive results from a scan last night, he will meet up with the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Republic-of-Ireland-c2987 squad as scheduled next week.”
The Republic of Ireland will take a sigh of relief, O’Shea has been crucial for them in the past few seasons. It was his participation which earned the team qualification in the last two competitions, playing as both right-back and centre back.
The Republic of Ireland players in the Championship, along with O’Shea’s teammate http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/James-McClean-c17703 will join the squad on Thursday. The remaining players will join up with them three days later, after which intense training will begin.
The team will have a week before they kick things off with a friendly Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday. They will then head off to their training camp in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Hungary-c2920 in a final warm-up game in Budapest.
O’Shea made his first appearance for the Republic of Ireland in 2001 and since then has been a regular for the national side. In total, the former Manchester United defender has made 75 appearances and has scored one goal. He will look to increase that tally when he accompanies his side to the Euro 2012.
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