Coleman pulls out of Republic squad

Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni has been dealt a fresh blow with the news Seamus Coleman has pulled out of the squad due to injury.

The 22-year-old Everton midfielder has not trained all week because of an ankle injury picked up on club duty at the weekend, and after assessment on Thursday afternoon, the decision was taken to send him back to Merseyside.

He follows Newcastle striker Leon Best back to England 24 hours after he also had to admit defeat in his efforts to shake off an ankle problem.

Trapattoni had already lost key members of his starting XI in Shay Given and John O'Shea by the time the squad assembled.

There has been better news of skipper Robbie Keane and central defender Richard Dunne in recent days, while Damien Duff trained for the first time on Thursday after recovering from an Achilles injury.

However, Sean St Ledger, who is the first-choice partner for Dunne, has not been able to train since damaging his knee in a collision with Ciaran Clark on Tuesday morning and a huge question mark hangs over his participation.

Goalkeeping coach Alan Kelly said: "We are just being careful with him and taking every precaution.

"We will give him as much time as we can and see what happens.

"It's all you can do in these situations when people pick up knocks. Let's see what happens."