Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury.
The Manchester City stopper suffered the injury during the warm-up to Manchester City’s Europa League clash with Aris Salonika last week, less than a year after injuring the same shoulder at the tail end of last season, which ruled him out for months and was a major factor in Joe Hart establishing himself as the number one goalkeeper at the club.
Given will visit a specialist in London to determine the extent of the damage, but it is expected that he will have to undergo surgery and will be out for up to three months. Given had already been ruled out Ireland’s Euro 2012 qualifier with Macedonia next month, but he is now unlikely to feature for City again this season, which means that he may never play for the club again as he was expected to leave in the summer.
The 34-year old sought to leave Eastlands during the January transfer window after failing to usurp Joe Hart as City’s number one, but with Roberto Mancini likely to invest in a new ‘keeper during the summer, Given will almost certainly be on his way out of the club.
As far as Ireland are concerned, Given will miss a friendly clash with Uruguay three days after the Macedonia qualifier, while he also looks unlikely to play any part in Ireland’s Carling Nations Cup clashes with Scotland and Northern Ireland at the end of May. Giovanni Trapattoni will be hoping that he might return for the Euro 2012 qualifier against Macedonia in Skopje on 6 June.
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