O'Shea to make Euro qualifiers despite injury

John O'Shea will be fit for the Republic of Ireland's Euro qualifiers against Slovakia and Russia in September, despite picking up a hamstring injury in his first match for Sunderland.

Black Cats manager Steve Bruce has said the defender will be back for the start of the new season next month as the injury is not as serious as first feared.

The 30-year-old former Manchester United defender limped out of Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Arminia Bielefeld in Germany and sat out the 3-1 defeat by Hannover 96 last night.

O'Shea will also miss Saturday’s clash with Borussia Monchengladbach and faces a further fortnight on the sidelines as he attempts to return to fitness, but his manager will not rush him.

Bruce told the Sunderland Echo: “It’s disappointing that John hasn’t played here, but we have still got three weeks left.

“We need him to be ready in a few weeks’ time, not now. We have got games when we get back.

“It would be nice to see him play, but he got his leg in a difficult position against Arminia Bielefeld on Sunday and strained a muscle.

“We will have to keep an eye on how he is. The last thing we want to do now is risk anybody. If they have got anything slight, I would rather them give training and the games a rest.

“But the vast majority got through the game yesterday and hopefully everyone’s okay.”