Injured Finnan forced to pull out of Trapattoni's squad

Steve Finnan has been forced to withdraw from the Republic of Ireland squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria and Italy.

The Espanyol defender has suffered the recurrence of a hamstring injury.

It leaves manager Giovanni Trapattoni with 25 players from which to choose his squad of 23 to play the Bulgarians in Croke Park on Saturday week, before the trip to face group favourites, Italy on April 1.