Chris McCann ruled out of Shamrock Rovers' Europa League tie

Chris McCann is out of Shamrock Rovers’ Europa League, third qualifying round, second leg tie against North Macedonian side Shkupi on Tuesday night

BIG LOSS: Shamrock Rovers' Chris McCann was man of the match in the first leg against Shkupi. Pic: Brian Lawless/PA Wire.

Chris McCann is out of Shamrock Rovers’ big Europa League, third qualifying round, second leg tie against North Macedonian side Shkupi on Tuesday night.

The 35-year-old was man-of-the-match in a holding midfield role before forced off with a calf injury after an hour in last week’s first leg which Rovers won 3-1 at a bouncing Tallaght Stadium.

Hoops manager Stephen Bradley did have better news on Jack Byrne, saying the talented Ireland international midfielder is finally back fit and available, though he hasn’t started a game for Rovers since May 23rd.

Gary O’Neill 97th minute goal ensures Rovers are on the cusp of qualifying for the group stages in Europe for a second time, equalling their groundbreaking feat of 11 years ago.

Getting through at the National Arena Todor Proeski in Skopje tomorrow night will put Rovers into the play-off round of the Europa League while, should they be eliminated there, guaranteeing them Europa Conference League group stage and the minimum €3.3 million prize money that comes with it.

Unlike in Bulgaria for their Champions League tie with Ludogorets last month, Rovers' travel plans have gone smoothly for this game.

“Thankfully our travel was good,” said Bradley at today's pre-match press briefing.

“The flight, hotel, everything was perfect, a lot better than what we had on our previous trip.” 

Despite the two goal cushion, Bradley insists Rovers will not sit back against Shkupi who showed for a spell last week that they pose a big threat in the attacking area of the field.

“In the second half, they showed the quality we knew that they had,” said Bradley.

“For 25 minutes we needed Alan (Mannus) to keep us in the game and they showed their quality in that moment (when they scored).

“Tomorrow I'd imagine they'll bring that from the first minute, so we've got to make sure we go up the levels tomorrow.

“We need to go up a few levels to win the game tomorrow night.

"Alan was fantastic last week, he made some really important saves, too many important saves for our liking, so we've got to make sure that we go up a few levels.

“We're one game away from it,” added Bradley on being within touching distance of group stage football in Europe this autumn.

“We know it's a tough one, but we've worked hard to get ourselves into this position and it's a nice position to be in.”