McGeady to miss World Cup qualifiers

Aiden McGeady is out of Ireland’s World Cup qualifiers against Sweden and Austria after suffering an injury setback.

The winger’s troublesome knee problem flared up again on Wednesday while training with his club, Spartak Moscow.

It had been reported the 27-year-old would make his comeback from a three-week lay-off for the Russian club in last night’s Europa League fixture but he didn’t feature in the 4-2 defeat — a 5-3 aggregate exit — against Swiss club St Gallen.

McGeady’s withdrawal from the panel for the crucial double-header represents a major blow for Giovanni Trapattoni, who reaffirmed his faith in the Glaswegian at last Sunday’s squad announcement.

McGeady has started every competitive fixture for Ireland since he was last dropped for the World Cup play-off in Paris almost four years ago.

The former Celtic flanker is now expected to spend another three weeks sidelined, a timescale that leaves him easily on track to return for the penultimate qualifier, in Germany on October 11.