Watch highlights of the Republic of Ireland v The Netherlands on RTÉ TWO on Wednesday at 10.00pm.
Stephen Carr is itching to return to the Republic of Ireland fold following the u-turn on his international career.
Newcastle right-back Carr quit the international scene last October after Ireland failed to qualify for this summer's World Cup finals under former manager Brian Kerr.
But with Steve Staunton at the helm, Carr - who celebrates his 30th birthday in a fortnight - has been tempted out of retirement.
Carr now looks set to add to his 41 caps by playing in tomorrow's friendly against The Netherlands at Lansdowne Road as Staunton finalises preparations for the European Championship qualifying campaign.
Although refusing to divulge why he quit, Carr has admitted to missing international football as part of his reasoning behind the comeback.
'Once I made the decision to return I couldn't wait to get back into the fold,' revealed Carr. 'It's now great to be back, and it's a fantastic game to come back to, playing against such a great team like Holland.
'I'm really looking forward to the game, particularly as I'm the best I've felt for a while. Hopefully my injuries are behind me, and after a good few weeks in pre-season, I'm just waiting for the season to start.'
Staunton's squad, though, has been decimated by injury, with captain Robbie Keane, Richard Dunne, Shay Given, Ian Harte, Alan Lee, Terry Dixon and Stephen Ireland all withdrawing. Staunton has also been unable to call up Joey O'Brien and Andy Reid because of injury, leaving a 19-man squad with a threadbare look.
Carr, though, is confident a fully-fit Ireland have what it takes to qualify for the Euro 2008 finals in Switzerland and Austria.
'Playing against the quality of a side like Holland is always great preparation,' added Carr, with the opening Group D game with Germany in Stuttgart now just 18 days away.
'I didn't watch many of their games at the World Cup, but you know they have some world-class players. That's shown by the fact they can leave players out of the squad of the standard of van Nistelrooy.
'It makes this game good preparation for facing Germany, who have a good, young team coming through, and for the rest of the qualifying campaign.
'It's going to be a difficult group to get out of, although to be fair most of our groups have been difficult over the years. But I still think we've a good enough squad to go through.'
Part of Carr's thinking is the likes of Tottenham's teenage star Dixon and Newcastle team-mate Alan O'Brien who are quickly emerging for both club and country.
Carr has been particularly impressed with what he has seen of winger O'Brien, exclaiming: 'He is electric. He has frightening pace and once he matures and learns how to use that pace then he will be a very good player.
'With someone of the likes of Duffer [Damien Duff] to learn from, then he can be unbelievable.
Duff's recent £5million departure from Chelsea to the Magpies has ensured there is a strong St James' Park presence in the Ireland squad these days.
Carr, for one, is delighted to see Magpies boss Glenn Roeder make a positive statement of intent with the acquisition of Duff.
'It's great for the club, massive,' enthused Carr.
'He's one of the biggest signings we've made for a long time, and hopefully now we'll get a few more players in of his quality. Once he is fit, because he is catching up at the moment as he started pre-season later than us, then he will be a great buy.'
