Conor Hourihane: 'Once everyone is safe around me, that's all that matters'

Conor Hourihane has managed to avoid the virus while on duty with Ireland but that is not to say he hasn't been affected

Conor Hourihane during a Republic of Ireland training session at the FAI National Training Centre in Abbotstown, Dublin. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

As with so many things in the midst of this pandemic, the human element can be lost in the shadows as the numbers climb higher.

Bulgaria will be without 10 first-team players this evening, the Republic of Ireland's absentee list is twice that. A significant portion of those losses have come as a result of Covid-19 positives and each one will have prompted feelings of disappointment, maybe even fear and not a little uncertainty.