Surgery puts Byrne out of opening qualifier ties
THE creative talents of Jack Byrne will be absent for the Republic of Ireland’s opening World Cup qualifiers. The APOEL Nicosia midfielder, who figured as a substitute in November’s Nations League games against Wales and Bulgaria, underwent surgery yesterday to repair a herniated disc for which the recovery is estimated to be three months.
Byrne, 24, has made just five appearances since signing for APOEL from Shamrock Rovers and last played on February 7. He joins a growing injury list for Ireland manager Stephen Kenny ahead of Group A games against Serbia on March 24 and Luxembourg on March 27. Kenny, who names his squad on March 18, is already without John Egan, Callum O’Dowda and James McClean through injury. The Ireland party will assemble in London on Sunday, March 21 before flying out to Belgrade the next day. Players involved in club games on the Sunday, such as Shane Duffy (Celtic), Darren Randolph (West Ham) and Matt Doherty (Spurs), need the all-clear from post-match
Covid-19 tests before travelling. Goalkeeper Randolph has eased concerns over his availability for the Serbia tie having been pressed into action for West Ham on Saturday at short notice after Lukasz Fabianski was ruled out. The Bray native received treatment during the game, having missed previous five matches with a thigh problem. ‘Lukasz got injured on
Friday in a collision and I obviously had to wait to see how he was feeling on the morning of the game,’ explained Randolph yesterday. ‘I had kind of half an idea from Friday because I can always tell from a goalkeeper’s reaction as I’ve had similar injuries in the past. ‘As for me, I’m fine. It was just little tiny reminder that it’s still there, but I’m fine.’