Republic of Ireland hit by withdrawals for Spain friendly
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Venue: Yankee Stadium, New York Date: Wednesday, 12 May (UK and Irish time) Kick-off: 01:00 BST
John O'Shea, Jonathan Walters, Wes Hoolahan and Glenn Whelan have joined an already lengthy list of Republic of Ireland absentees for Tuesday night's friendly against Spain in New York.
O'Shea has pulled out after the death of an uncle while Walters (knee) and Hoolahan (foot) have injuries and Whelan is excused after a long season.
Defender Richard Dunne will also miss the game as he aims to find a new club.
Marc Wilson, Aiden McGeady and Shane Long were already ruled out.
McGeady and Long are both getting married in the coming weeks while Wilson is scheduled to undergo a leg operation.
In addition, goalkeeper Keiren Westwood will not make the trip to the US because of a shoulder injury so uncapped Wolves keeper Aaron McCarey has been called up to the squad for the game which kicks off at 01:00 BST.
McCarey has played five times for the Republic's Under-21s.
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“
He (Wes Hoolahan) was fantastic, as he was in the last game
”
Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni
After scoring a hat-trick in Friday's 3-0 World Cup qualifier win over the Faroes Islands, Robbie Keane will captain the Irish squad in the country where he plays his club football for LA Galaxy.
Midfielder James McCarthy will also travel to the US despite suggestions last week that he might not be involved.
Despite his absence from Tuesday's game, playmaker Hoolahan appears to have moved up significantly up the pecking order in the Republic squad after an impressive first competitive start in the Faroes clash.
Hoolahan replaced the suspended McCarthy in Dublin and went to produce a display full of invention and incisive passing.
The 31-year-old was involved in all the Republic's goals and Trapattoni, who has appeared lukewarm when previously asked about Hoolahan's attributes, lauded the Norwich player's performance.
"He was fantastic, as he was in the last game. He has a good personality, he's creative, but he also pressed as well, which is very important," said Trapattoni.
"I have said in the past that maybe we ignored him slightly, but at that moment, we had achieved qualification (for Euro 2012) and we were looking at a new group of players.
"Hoolahan is not old, but he's 31 and at that time, we had Darron Gibson, Glenn Whelan, Keith Andrews and other players.
"It was a pity because he has showed us that he is fantastically creative and one of the best Irish players in this position."
Asked if Hoolahan was now in contention to start when the qualifying campaign resumes in September, Trapattoni said: "Sure, yes.
"It depends on his form at that moment, but if he continues to play as he is at the moment, yes."
Republic of Ireland squad for Spain friendly
Robbie Keane (capt), David Forde, Darren Randolph, Aaron McCarey, Sean St Ledger, Seamus Coleman, Damien Delaney, Darren O'Dea, Paul McShane, Stephen Kelly, Richard Keogh, James McClean, David Meyler, James McCarthy, Andy Keogh, Jeff Hendrick, Stephen Quinn, Simon Cox, Conor Sammon.
Courtesy: BBC
