Newcastle striker Leon Best has been drafted into the Republic of Ireland squad for the Euro 2012 play-off against Estonia amid a growing injury crisis.
The 25-year-old former Coventry frontman has been called up by manager Giovanni Trapattoni, with West Brom's Shane Long likely to miss out because of a knee injury.
Best has been in superb form for the Magpies, and his partnership with Demba Ba has been a key feature of the club's rise to third place in the Barclays Premier League table.
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew had previously expressed his surprise at Best's omission from the Ireland squad.
"I was surprised he wasn’t in the Ireland squad. I don't see too many other Irish strikers scoring almost a goal every other game," he said after the striker was left out of the original squad.
There has been a clamour for Best's inclusion anyway following his impressive start to the new campaign.
He scored three times in as many league starts at the beginning of the season and, while he has not added to his tally in his last five appearances, Pardew has been delighted with his contribution alongside Senegal international Ba, whose hat-trick secured a 3-1 win at Stoke on Monday night.
However, when asked about the Newcastle player last month, Trapattoni said he was monitoring him but wanted to see him working harder for his team, something which mystified the Newcastle boss.
He will now get the chance to impress the Italian all over again as he bids to add to his seven senior international caps to date and put himself in contention for a trip to Poland and Ukraine next summer if Ireland can ease their way past the Estonians.
