Hobbling Hendrick withdraws from World Cup squad

The worrying sight since the weekend of Jeff Hendrick “hobbling around on crutches” in the words of his manager Nigel Clough was followed yesterday by the expected confirmation from the FAI that the Derby County midfielder is now out of the Irish squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Sweden and Austria.

The 21-year-old missed the Rams’ 5-0 home victory over League One side Brentford in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday night after sustaining a chipped bone in his ankle in the league win at Yeovil last weekend.

Hendrick has already had a scan on the injury but, in order to determine the full extent of the damage, is set to see a specialist tomorrow.