Trapattoni absent from squad announcement as sister dies

Giovanni Trapattoni's press conference set for this afternoon has been cancelled due to the death of his sister.

The Republic of Ireland manager was due to announce the squad for next month's friendly match against Poland today.

A statement from the FAI said that Sister Romilde Trapattoni, 81, died this morning following a long illness.

The statement continued: “The FAI offers is sincere condolences to Giovanni and his family. Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this difficult time.”

The FAI will announce the squad in a press release this afternoon for the game at the Aviva Stadium on February 6.

It is being reported that Damien Duff will rejoin the Irish squad.

The Fulham winger will not play in the friendly, but may be available for the World cup qualifiers against Sweden and Austria, according to the Irish Daily Mail.