Newcastle striker Leon Best has withdrawn from the Ireland squad with an ankle injury.
The fact that Best missed out on Newcastle’s defeat to Stoke at the weekend is well known at this stage due to the fact that Best, Stephen Ireland and Magpies reserve player Stephen Folan were pictured in Newcastle nightclub Tup Tup Palace on the eve of the game, baring their chests in a photo that appeared on the nightclub’s Facebook page.
Best joined up with the Ireland squad on Monday and was sent for a swim to help aid his recovery from his ankle problem, while the rest of the squad trained at Gannon Park in Malahide.
After further assessment of the injury, however, Best withdrew from the squad and will return to Newcastle for further treatment on the injury, and, no doubt, to a rollicking from Newcastle manager Alan Pardew for his escapades at the weekend.
Darron Gibson and Richard Dunne both trained today after recovering from toe and shoulder injuries respectively.
Damien Duff, who is suffering from an Achilles problem, sat out training for the second day in a row and Sean St. Ledger also missed out after picking up a knock in training yesterday.
Both players are expected to be fit in time to face Macedonia on Saturday evening.
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