Reid almost ready for Ireland’s call

NO Stephen Ireland in the latest squad, surprise, surprise, but hopes are rising that Steven Reid will be able to play a role in Ireland’s World Cup run-in.

While Giovanni Trapattoni has named the Blackburn Rovers man on a standby list for the August 12 friendly against Australia at Thomond Park, the Ireland manager admitted yesterday that a competitive return for the midfielder is unlikely before the crucial World Cup game against Italy in Dublin in October.

But that’s still encouraging news given that Reid – one of Ireland’s star performers in the opening two away games of the qualification campaign – subsequently missed the bulk of last season following surgery on a major knee injury. At the time, fears were expressed about the player’s long-term future but he is now back in training at Ewood Park – and clearly back in Trapattoni’s thinking.