Anthony Pilkington has been ruled out of the Republic of Ireland squad for the World Cup Qualifiers with Sweden and Austria.
Pilkington was forced off injured during Norwich’s 0-0 draw with Southampton in the Premier League yesterday and the FAI has confirmed today that he will not be available for either game.
It is understood that he suffered a recurrence of the hamstring injury that kept him out of the friendly against Poland last month and he has been ruled out for a number of weeks by the Norwich medical staff.
On Friday, Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni had hinted that Pilkington would make his debut against Sweden on March 22. He said, “Pilkington is a typical character, we saw him in many games. He has a good personality with or without the ball.
He’s technical. It’s not easy to play near the line but he can take [a] touch very well and go on goal. I think I am very, very confident about him – very confident,” he added.
Trapattoni now has a provisional squad of 28 players which will be trimmed to 23 later this week.