Heat will be on in more ways than one

A squad of 23 players landed in Tbilisi last night, after striker Anthony Stokes failed to make the final cut and goalkeeper Keiren Westwood was forced to withdraw with tonsillitis.

All remaining players had come through a morning training session in Malahide without further injury scares before flying out of Dublin.

“Westwood had to go home,” Martin O’Neill confirmed. “He is pretty ill. He has been isolated for the last couple of days. It’s a real shame. Anthony Stokes won’t travel with us. James McCarthy is fine, he has trained the last couple of days. Jon Walters has also trained and I think at the moment has had no real reaction, which is very healthy and good news.”