Andrews out of key clashes

After Giovanni Trapattoni confirmed yesterday that injury had ruled Keith Andrews out of the squad for the World Cup games against Sweden and Austria, it has now emerged the midfielder faces a race against time to be fit for the June qualifier against the Faroe Islands.

The player has revealed he will undergo surgery next week on an Achilles heel problem which has proven resistant to all other treatments. A torn thigh muscle meant the Bolton man missed out on last month’s friendly against Poland in Dublin but, even though he’d been making good progress in recovering from that injury, another flare-up has prompted him to go under the knife.

“The operation is pencilled in for Tuesday in London,” he told the Irish Examiner, “and the recovery period is expected to be a minimum of six to eight weeks.