Martin O'Neill has left the door open for Jonathan Walters to play some part in the World Cup play-off against Denmark despite not naming him in his squad.
Walters has been out with a knee injury since limping out of Burnley's Carabao Cup win against Blackburn Rovers in August, but O'Neill revealed he's making steady progress and could feature at some point in the two-legged showdown.
"I haven't put him this squad at this moment, though he's making good progress," the manager said. "We'll see what the next ten days may bring. We'll see."
James McCarthy has made the cut. McCarthy made his first competitive start for Everton since February in last night’s English League Cup defeat to Chelsea, while Callum O’Dowda was on the scoresheet in Bristol City’s defeat of Crystal Palace the night before.
With David Meyler suspended for the game in Copenhagen, McCarthy's return particularly is a welcome lift.
"I was at the game," O'Neill added. "It's good for him. He hasn't payed in some time. He got through that last night.
"That's encouraging. He seemed to be alright and that's good news for us."
Paul McShane and Matt Doherty also come back into the frame, with O'Neill singling out Doherty for his fine form with Championship club Wolves.
"Paul picked up a couple of injuries. He would have been included in the two matches we had in Georgia and Serbia.
"Overall, I've never really seen them being out of the squad. They're certainly in my thoughts.
"Matt is playing a right wing-back role for Wolves and it seems to suit him. I haven't forgotten them."
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Ireland travel to Copenhagen for the first leg on Saturday fortnight, and bring the Danes back to Dublin three days later.
O'Neill is braced for a relentlessly difficult 180 minutes, with Denmark's star men very much on his radar.
"They're tough matches. Eriksen is playing out of his skin; he's a real, real good player," he said.
"They've got a lad called (Thomas) Delaney who is an exceptionally good player. I think John is claiming responsibility for him!
"They're very, very strong. They're much better when they played in the play-off games against Sweden in the Euros. It will be really tough for us and I hope it will be tough for them as well."
Republic of Ireland squad
Goalkeepers: Darren Randolph, Keiren Westwood, Rob Elliot, Colin Doyle
Defenders: Cyrus Christie, Matt Doherty, Paul McShane, Richard Keogh, Shane Duffy, Ciaran Clark, John O'Shea, Kevin Long, Stephen Ward
Midfielders: Aiden McGeady, Daryl Horgan, Alan Browne, Glenn Whelan, Conor Hourihane, Harry Arter, James McCarthy, Robbie Brady, Jeff Hendrick, Eunan O'Kane, David Meyler, Wes Hoolahan, Callum O'Dowda, Jonny Hayes, James McClean
Forwards: Shane Long, Daryl Murphy, David McGoldrick, Sean Maguire, Scott Hogan, Aiden O'Brien
