Only days after he was belatedly called up to the Ireland squad, it looks as if Leon Best will miss out on Ireland’s Euro 2012 play-off clashes with Estonia.
The Newcastle striker limped off during the Magpies’ 2-1 win over Everton yesterday with a quite odd combination of toe and groin injuries and looks unlikely to feature in either the home or away leg against the Estonians.
Best is expected to link up with the rest of the Irish squad later this week, but his arrival could be delayed due to the imminent birth of his child, which is due any day now.
Commenting on Best’s situation, Newcastle boss Alan Pardew said: “Leon’s wife is imminent and they are in discussions.
“He is desperate to play, don’t get me wrong. We have spoken to the manager and spoken to the medical team about maybe a bit of compassion in terms of him staying about today because she’s that close, so we will see.”
Whether or not Best would have featured at all is debatable given his frosty relationship with Giovanni Trapattoni, but considering the injury crisis in the Irish attack at present, it would have been nice to have him available as a back-up option.
Kevin Doyle is suspended for the first leg in Tallinn on Friday, Shane Long is almost certainly out of both legs and Robbie Keane is only just coming back to full fitness and faces a gruelling travelling schedule in the next few days.
As a result, the only fully-fit options available to Trapattoni for Friday night’s encounter are Jonathan Walters and Simon Cox, while we are also facing the dire possibility that Andy Keogh will be our first alternative off the bench.
Get well soon, Leon.
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