HENDO SCARE

O’Neill sweats on fitness of Burnley star

JEFF HENDRICK has emerged as an injury scare for the Republic of Ireland as they prepare to face Denmark in the World Cup play-offs.

The Burnley midfielder sat out training yesterday with a lower hip muscle complaint and manager Martin O’Neill revealed the player himself is ‘hopeful’, he will be fit for duty in Copenhagen on Saturday.

‘If the game was this morning, Jeff wouldn’t be playing,’ said O’Neill.

Hendrick, who came off after 65 minutes of Burnley’s 1-0 win over Southampton on Saturday, is one of the very few Irish players not on a yellow card heading to Copenhagen.

He was a spectator at Abbotstown yesterday along with Stephen Ward, Daryl Murphy and John O’Shea, while Keiren Westwood remained at Sheffield Wednesday for a scan on his foot. Ward is the first choice left-back and O’Neill will let him take it easy between now and Saturday.

‘It’s just a matter of keeping an eye on Stephen’s knee. It needs a little bit of rest now and

then. I’ve got no real problem with that. ‘If we have to walk through some [match day] situations for the players in the next day or so we’ll do so.’ O’Neill is at odds with Ipswich striker David McGoldrick, who has been cut from the original squad, along with Daryl Horgan, Alan Browne and Johnny Hayes, and the injured trio of James McCarthy, Sean Maguire and Richard Keogh. O’Neil indicated that McGoldrick, who has played just 12 minutes in the campaign, was upset at being overlooked against Moldova last month. ‘I think he’s a wee bit disappointed not making the bench,’ said O’Neill, who has no issue with players taking umbrage at being left out. ‘Listen, I’m delighted that players care. He is fine, I can’t guarantee anybody (a place). The only player I could have guaranteed in the side, if he had been fit, was Seamus Coleman. ‘I think that’s the encouraging thing, that players want to be part of the whole thing.’ O’Neill reported that McGoldrick, who scored for Ipswich on Saturday, has ‘a niggling groin’. I said I’d give him a shout on Thursday and see how he is.” Danish skipper Simon Kjaer trained alone yesterday and the Sevilla defender will link up with his colleagues in Copenhagen today, as will Nicolai Jorgensen, the Feyenoord striker.