Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill has been left sweating over the fitness of winger James McClean ahead of Sunday night's Euro 2016 qualifier against Poland, the meeting of Scotland's Group D rivals sure to have a major bearing on the race for second place.
The 25-year-old Wigan midfielder limped out of training at Gannon Park in Malahide on Tuesday morning with his left ankle heavily strapped, and was immediately taken for a scan. O'Neill later insisted the examination was precautionary, but he was left crossing his fingers over a man who has become a regular in his team.
The manager said: "James has got a sore ankle. He's gone for a scan - precautionary, I hope - but he was just feeling it a little bit. We'll see how he is.
"It didn't happen in training. He felt a little bit sore after yesterday. He thought it might go away, but it's just a bit of a pain across the ankle."
O'Neill will be desperate to have McClean fit for the clash with the surprise Group D leaders with fellow wide-man Aiden McGeady having not played for club Everton since January 31 because of a knee problem, from which he has now recovered, but which has left him short of match fitness.
The 63-year-old, who first worked with McClean during their time together at Sunderland, insists he is yet to pick his team for what could prove to be a pivotal game in the campaign, but admits the former Derry City player has become an important player for him.
He said: "They are all key. We haven't picked the side yet, but James has played exceptionally well for us in most of the games since I have been in charge. Obviously I know him quite well - very well, in fact - and yes, he's a good player for us."
O'Neill also has concerns over Burnley full-back Stephen Ward, who was due to undergo a procedure to remove screws used to repair an ankle injury on Monday, while striker Jonathan Walters trained wearing a mask to protect the fractured cheekbone he had repaired recently.
Everton midfield duo James McCarthy and Darron Gibson have been nursed through the early part of the week after their exertions on club duty, while skipper Robbie Keane and new squad member Harry Arter have now joined up with the rest of the party.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article