Finnan ruled out of crucial Slovakia clash

STEVE FINNAN was last night officially ruled out of Ireland’s crunch European championship qualifier against Slovakia on Saturday.

Said Irish manager Steve Staunton: ‘‘He is continuing to receive treatment on his knee at Liverpool and depending on his progress he might be able to join us for the game against the Czech Republic in Prague next Wednesday.’’

Meanwhile, John O’Shea picked up a bruised knee in training at Malahide yesterday but the knock won’t prevent the Manchester United player from flying out to Bratislava with the Irish squad this afternoon.

“John’s fine,” said Staunton, “It’s just precautionary. He got a bang on it and it’s a bit sore.”

Sunderland’s Paul McShane, recovering from a shoulder injury, has continued to confine his training sessions to non-contact work but, again, the Irish camp are happy that he will be fit for the game on Saturday evening.