Everton defender Shane Duffy has been handed the fairly ominous task of trying to fill Richard Dunne’s boots for the friendly against the Czech Republic later this month.
Duffy was called into the Ireland squad this morning after Dunne was ruled out for at least month or maybe longer with a fractured clavicle suffered in Aston Villa’s loss to Manchester City yesterday.
The Honey Monster fell nastily on his shoulder after going typically balls out for a cross in the City penalty area and although the sight of Dunne nursing his shoulder afterwards will have caused grave concern for Irish supporters, those fears were eased with the news that he will be back in action well before the Euros in the summer.
Derry native Duffy has turned in a series of impressive performances for Everton in recent months and the call-up marks a remarkable rise in fortunes for the 20-year old, who suffered a horrific injury in an Irish training camp in May 2010 that nearly cost him his life.
Considering that Giovanni Trapattoni has as good as narrowed down the squad he will take to the Euros to the 24 players selected in the squad to face the Czech Republic, there is a good chance Duffy will be taken to the Euros should injury affect any of our defenders (touch wood not Dunne or O’Shea) before the tournament.
Duffy’s selection also ruled out the rather distant possibility that Trapattoni might for some reason have called up James McClean in Dunne’s stead, but alas, it was not to be.
Hopefully Trap was watching, however, when McClean further enhanced his reputation with another belter against Arsenal at the weekend.
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