Hamstring problem likely to keep James McCarthy out of Belarus warm-up

All eyes will be on James McCarthy when, if all goes according to plan, the Everton midfielder joins the rest of the Irish squad for training at Turner’s Cross today.

Struggling with a hamstring problem, McCarthy sat out training all last week and missed Friday’s game against the Netherlands.

O’Neill indicated after that match that it would take “a dramatic improvement” over the weekend for the player to feature against Belarus tomorrow night, and the likelihood is that even if further progress is reported today, he will not be risked for the game at Turner’s Cross.