Ruesha Littlejohn has been ruled out of the Republic of Ireland's World Cup qualifier against Poland in Gdansk tomorrow evening (5pm Irish time, live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player) due to "a flare-up" of an Achilles issue.
Boss Carla Ward said the Crystal Palace midfielder will not be available for the first part of a double-header but expects her to return for Saturday's showdown with the Poles at Aviva Stadium.
Everyone else is fit and ready to go, including Liverpool's Denise O'Sullivan, who missed the qualifier against the Netherlands last month due to a knee injury.
"Ruesha will be out tomorrow but available for the second game," confirmed Ward. "Just a flare-up in the Achilles. She'll be back next game.
"You can't underestimate Poland. They're a top side with world-class players, similar to France and Netherlands. So it'll be the same approach as it would be if we were playing France and Netherlands. We want to try and get points from every single game.
"They're a hungry group. They want to continue to impress. I don't want to put all the emphasis on one individual game. We've got four games left. All four games, we want to get points from them."
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'They are a top-class side with world-class players' – Carla Ward on Poland 🇵🇱
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Having lost their opening two matches against the French and Dutch, tomorrow's battle in Gdansk, and Saturday's Lansdowne Road clash against the same opponents, are of high importance.
Finishing third in the four-team group would give Ireland a kinder play-off draw - on paper at least - but they are in for a serious test at the 41,620-capacity Gdansk Stadium, the venue where the Republic of Ireland's men's team slumped to a 4-0 loss against Spain at Euro 2012.
Poland held the Netherlands to a 2-2 draw in their opening group game and, in Barcelona striker Ewa Pajor, possess a player who can settle a game on her own. They are a dangeorus outfit.
"I watched them at the Euros, I was really impressed with them," said Ward. "They've got a lot of world-class players. They've also got a handful of players playing Champions League football. They're aggressive, really aggressive in transition.
"I was talking with the players the other day about how they covered the most distance, the most high-speed running at the Euros. That tells you an awful lot about what they're about.
"We love to fight. We love the energy. They're similar. So we're going to have to absolutely match that.
"I think it would be naive to focus on one (player). Of course, you have to look at Pajor. Rightly so. She's competing at the highest level, scoring goals, both in Champions League and La Liga.
"So she's a top, top player. But like I'll keep alluding to, they've got a lot of top players."
O'Sullivan, sitting to her head coach's right, confirmed she's in good shape ahead of what promises to be two physical games of international football.
"I went back to Liverpool, been in great hands there, so I'm feeling strong, feeling ready to go this weekend and really excited for the game tomorrow," said the Corkwoman.
"I was really proud of the girls (in the Netherlands). Obviously, sitting in the stands was really hard. I absolutely love playing for my country, so I missed it. But after the game, you know, I was so proud of the girls. They were excellent in that game.
"I think they defended very well, very organised and I think they've done really well in attack as well and possession. So a great performance but the next step for us now is turning those good performances into points."
It's a crunch period for Ward. The last time Ireland were in League A for the qualification phase of a major tournament was under Eileen Gleeson when they ultimately lost to Wales in a play-off for Euro 2025.
They beat a much-changed France at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in their final match but still finished bottom of the group. There's a deep desire to avoid that fate this time.
"All three teams are very diverse so every single game right now for us is important," added Ward.
"I think they are arguably one of the most aggressive transition teams in Europe right now. They showed that both at the Euros and in their recent games. All over the park you can see what the manager has done with them and how they have developed collectively.
"There are other teams that we might have played that have looked at maybe more individually. But this group of players you can see is very together."
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