Fitness tests for Galway duo

Galway United winger Derek O'Brien and full-back Seamus Conneely both face fitness tests ahead of tonight’s game against Shamrock Rovers at Terryland Park, kick-off 7.45pm.

O'Brien missed out on United's penalty shoot-out victory over local rivals Salthill Devon through an ankle injury, while Conneely is also recovering from injury having missed out on the win over Drogheda United.

John Russell continues his return to fitness after playing 60 minutes in the EA Sports Cup clash on Tuesday, however, he will not be considered for the Hoops game.

And Shane Fitzgerald remains on the sidelines with an ankle injury.

For Rovers, Pat Flynn (hamstring) and Ian Bermingham (calf) both remain sidelined, while there are doubts about the availability of Corie Treacy and Sean O’Connor.

“Pat and Ian are still out of the picture, while Corie is recovering from an illness and Sean is suffering from a hamstring problem,” said Hoops boss Michael O’Neill.

“Other than those four, everyone’s fine after what’s been a hectic schedule where we had three league and one EA Sports Cup game in the space of eleven days.”

“We’re unbeaten in our last four games so we’ve built up a bit of momentum. Confidence is quite high, everyone’s working hard and there’s a lot of competition for places.

“It’s important that we have a strong finish to the first quarter of the campaign, and a win against Galway would put us above them in the table – and that’s what we’ll be looking for.”