McCarthy left out of Ireland squad

Boss Martin O’Neill has named his final 29-man squad for the Republic of Ireland’s end-of-season friendlies, with James McCarthy among those from the provisional party to be left out.

Everton midfielder McCarthy, West Ham defender Joey O’Brien – who had already been released from the squad so he could concentrate on his own fitness programme – and Birmingham goalkeeper Darren Randolph are the trio missing from the original 32-man group O’Neill named earlier this month.