Mick McCarthy has voiced his concern over the fitness of Stephen Carr ahead of next month's crucial World Cup qualifier with Holland at Lansdowne Road. The Tottenham Hotspur full-back is in danger of missing the game that could edge the Republic a step closer to a place at next year's finals in Japan with a knee injury.
The central defensive pairing of Kenny Cunningham and Gary Breen are also giving McCarthy a headache, but the Irish manager is reluctant to rule them out of the equation completely. The duo will miss Wednesday's friendly with Croatia at Lansdowne Road and Steve Staunton and Richard Dunne, who deputised in their absence against Portugal and Estonia, are poised to keep their place in the starting line-up for the September 1 clash. However, McCarthy is expected to test Newcastle's Andy O'Brien and Manchester United's John O'Shea at some stage on Wednesday, but it is unlikely they will force their way into the starting line-up for the Dutch clash.
McCarthy, speaking to RTÉ radio, confirmed: "I think Stephen Carr is a major doubt, I think he will miss the Holland game. I hope I'm wrong, but I was speaking to Tottenham's David Pleat and there is a big doubt about him. Kenny and Gary are also doubtful as they have not played for a while, and Mark Kinsella is definitely out with a double hernia. Niall Quinn, who has been bothered by persistent back problems is now nursing an ankle injury, so we'll just have to wait and see."
Meanwhile, Crystal Palace's Clinton Morrisson, Millwall's Steven Reid and Leeds United's Steven McPhail are all likely to feature against the Croats, a game you can see live on Network 2 and hear live on 2FM's Medium Wave.
Filed by Shane Murray
