Trap: Folan will be fit for Bulgaria trip
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.
“Folan is only a little bit sore in the knee but it is not a big injury,” the Ireland manager said. “We know the problem and he will be with us on Monday for sure.”
In his absence, Leon Best is expected to be handed a debut at Fulham on Friday. Trapattoni is keen to see how the Coventry City striker performs against what he described as a “very strong Nigeria side“, although the 22-year-old is not the only new-boy who will be thrust into the limelight by the Italian.
With Shay Given nursing a minor hip injury – also not deemed to be serious by the FAI’s medical staff – another Coventry player, Keiren Westwood, will be given the chance to prove himself in international colours for the first time, while Sean St Ledger is likely to start at centre-half alongside Richard Dunne.
Trapattoni, who admitted that some of his senior professionals looked “tired” after a draining Premier League campaign, has urged his fringe players to prove they are worthy of consideration for Bulgaria.
“This is the reason I am looking at the other players, because they deserve it,” Trapattoni added. “At the moment, we need a squad to win the game. I will look at other players because of injuries but other players, in my opinion, are a little bit tired.
“I need new players and I need to test these players. That is why they must start the game because it is not so good to be on the bench.”
Trapattoni also gave his backing to Damien Duff, crestfallen after his own goal effectively condemned Newcastle to relegation at Aston Villa on Sunday. The winger is likely to start on the bench on Friday, but Trapattoni is confident he will rediscover his pep in time for the trip to the Vasil Levski stadium, even if he had to use his eccentric sense of humour to lift his spirits yesterday.
“I thought yesterday he was a little bit sad,” he said. “Sure he is not happy but I spoke with him and said: ‘Football is like this – but remember, you have to score a goal in the other end!’ He smiled at me and that was enough. I need to speak with him again but at the moment my opinion is that I will give him a little rest. I am sure he can play one half and I will take him for Bulgaria.”
One winger who is guaranteed a start on Friday is Liam Lawrence, whose fine form for Stoke towards the end of the season has impressed Trapattoni, even if the manager had a strange way of showing it.
“The first thing the manager said to me at dinner was how rubbish Stoke had been at Arsenal last Sunday,” revealed Lawrence, whose only previous senior call-up came in Steve Staunton’s first squad in February 2006. “He just looked straight through me but that put me on the back foot a bit! He was definitely being serious – we were rubbish, to be fair – and it was a bit gutting but hopefully I can prove myself to him now. I had been thinking the second call-up was never going to come but I’ve kept my head down and played some good stuff. I knew the Irish staff had been keeping an eye on me but it still came as a nice surprise.”
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