John O’Shea and Stephen Ward in doubt for Austria clash
John O’Shea was forced off before half-time as struggling Sunderland were hammered 4-1 at home to Arsenal in Saturday’s early kick-off.
A few hours later the same fate befell Stephen Ward as Burnley dug in to claim a scoreless draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Ward’s absence would probably represent the bigger blow for O’Neill. The Burnley man has started all three qualifiers so far and were he to be ruled out, O’Neill could be forced to move Robbie Brady for the midfield role he has occupied in recent times.
O’Shea started in the opening qualifier, the 2-2 draw in Serbia, but O’Neill opted for Shane Duffy and Ciaran Clark as his central defensive partnership against Georgia and Moldova.
James McCarthy and Shane Long are already concerns after suffering hamstring injuries on club duty for Everton and Southampton, respectively.
The fact neither was in the squad for yesterday’s Premier League games suggests both must be considered major doubts for the clash in Vienna on November 12.
Meanwhile, Daryl Horgan — a potential call-up when O’Neill reveals his squad for the Austria game on Wednesday — has been named the PFAI Player of the Year for 2016.
The Dundalk winger was chosen as the League of Ireland’s top performer this year, having helped his side to their third consecutive Premier Division title, as well as a place in the group stages of the Europa League and another FAI Cup final meeting with Cork City on Sunday.
Horgan’s boss Stephen Kenny was also honoured, being named the PFAI Manager of the Year.
Cork City striker Sean Maguire was named Young Player of the Year while Limerick’s Shane Duggan was First Division Player of the Year.
Norwich City’s Robbie Brady was Overseas Player of the Year, while Karen Duggan of UCD Waves picked up the Senior Women’s International Player of the Year award.
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