Dunne to miss vital qualifiers

Richard Dunne has been ruled out of Ireland’s vital World Cup qualifiers with Sweden and Austria.

Boss Giovanni Trapattoni confirmed on Thursday that the Aston Villa defender, who is suffering with a groin problem, will miss the two games on March 22 and 26. 

The Ireland boss also revealed that Everton's Seamus Coleman and Stoke's Marc Wilson will be named when the squad is announced on Friday.

Injuries are becoming a serious problem for Trapattoni ahead of the crunch Group C games. His other first-choice centre-back, Sean St Ledger, is a major doubt with a hamstring injury and has not made an appearance for Leicester since October.

John O’Shea and Ciaran Clark, who played in the centre of the defence against Poland last month, now look likely to start the game in Sweden.