Whelan and Hoolahan likely to miss qualifier in Scotland

No sooner had he experienced the relief of seeing Seamus Coleman and James McCarthy back in action for Everton, than Martin O’Neill has suffered the double whammy of learning that Glenn Whelan and Wes Hoolahan look set to miss next month’s Euro qualifier away to Scotland.

The injury which forced Whelan out of the 1-1 draw with Germany has turned out to be a serious one, with his Stoke City manager Mark Hughes estimating the player could be out for four to six weeks, meaning that he would miss the game in Celtic Park on November 14.

“Glenn has unfortunately got a fracture in his leg,” Hughes revealed. “He got a kick on the outside of his leg and there’s slight fracture there. He hasn’t been put into plaster cast because Glenn feels he will get back sooner. But the likelihood is he will be out for four to six weeks, which is a blow because big part of what we are doing. And it’s blow for him because he’s been playing really well of late.”