Trap: Folan will be fit for Bulgaria trip

GIOVANNI TRAPATTONI is confident Caleb Folan will be fit to feature in the pivotal World Cup qualifier against Bulgaria, despite seeing him ruled out of Friday’s friendly with Nigeria due to a knee injury.

With Kevin Doyle ruled out by a calf problem, Trapattoni had been hoping to deploy Folan alongside Robbie Keane at Craven Cottage to give the Hull striker some much-needed match practice ahead of the trip to Sofia on 6 June. But those hopes were dashed yesterday when Folan was forced to miss Ireland’s practice session at Arsenal’s London Colney training centre with the problem.

Folan was due to undergo a scan last night to determine the extent of the injury but it is not believed to be serious and Trapattoni anticipates Folan returning to training next Monday.