Stephen Kenny confirms some Republic of Ireland players have opted against Covid vaccine

Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny during his Republic of Ireland squad announcement. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Stephen Kenny, whose early days as Republic of Ireland manager were tormented by Covid-19 issues, has confirmed that some members of his latest squad have not been vaccinated against the virus.

The Dubliner has named a 25-man panel for the World Cup qualifiers away to Portugal and at home to Azerbaijan and Serbia with Alan Browne unavailable due to being a close contact of someone at Preston North End and Callum Robinson testing positive, for the second time in under a year.