Aiden McGeady fit for Poland showdown

The Republic of Ireland have been handed a huge boost ahead of their crucial match against Poland on Sunday week after Roberto Martinez confirmed Aiden McGeady has returned to full fitness.

The Everton winger has been sidelined since suffering a knee injury in training at the beginning of February but the Blues boss stated yesterday he is now available for selection.

“Aiden McGeady should be fit and available to be in the squad which is a huge boost because the reality is we missed him,” Martinez admitted.

“For him to be missing with that injury has been a real disappointment and I’m really, really excited and looking forward to seeing how well he can come back into the side because he is a player who can bring a lot in the next nine games.”

The news will be sure to please Ireland manager Martin O’Neill ahead of their potential make or break fixture against the Polish at the Aviva Stadium next weekend.

But Martinez added that even though he has named the 28-year old-in his squad to face QPR tomorrow afternoon after overcoming the knock, he will need time to rediscover his full match fitness.”

In other Irish news, Hull manager Steve Bruce has confirmed Robbie Brady has returned to full training and is likely to be included in the squad for tomorrow’s match against Chelsea.

The Republic of Ireland international suffered a freak injury to his calf after falling down a hole on the training ground and it was feared he may miss the rest of the season.

But the Tigers boss admitted yesterday he was surprised to see him return to action so quickly.

“He trained yesterday, which shocked us all,” said Bruce. “It’s now three weeks since he did his calf. It’s a big important game, so he will be hopefully involved on Sunday.”

In further good news for O’Neill, Jon Walters is set to return to action for Stoke City today just a week after fracturing his cheekbone.

He had surgery at the start of the week to repair the dent in his cheek and Stoke boss Mark Hughes will not be surprised to see Walters declare himself available to tackle Crystal Palace today.

Hughes said: “With Jon, he has gone through a fairly routine operation.

“But we will still have to see how he has recovered from that. As always, if Jon feels that he can go out there and do himself justice and help the team then he will put his hand up.”