Calf injury casts doubt over Nathan Collins for Ireland's Nations League openers

Brentford's Nathan Collins applauds the fans after the Premier League match at Elland Road against Leeds. Pic: Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA

Captain Nathan Collins has emerged as an early injury doubt for Ireland’s upcoming Uefa Nations League quadruple-header.

The defender’s compatriot Keith Andrews confirmed a calf complaint led to the Brentford boss substituting his skipper after just 17 minutes into Saturday’s draw against Sunderland.

Heimir Hallgrímsson is due to announce his squad on Thursday week for the four games.

Ireland open their League B campaign with a first-ever meeting against Kosovo in Pristina on Sept-26 24 before meeting Israel twice either side of a home meeting with Austria on October 1.

Both Israel games, on September 28 and October 4, will be contested in neutral countries. Debrecen in eastern Hungary hosts Israel’s ‘home’ game before the FAI’s choice of TSC Arena in Bačka Topola stages the rematch.

“It’s a calf strain,” Bees boss Andrews revealed. “I don’t know the extent.

“Obviously, it’s unfortunate that the skipper had to come off, but it was an introduction for Jannik (Schuster) which I thought he relished.

“I think he wanted that battle and fight against [Brian] Brobbey, and then [Wilson] Isidor came on as well. I think he stood up to that in a really mature way.” Collins, 25, took over the captaincy from Séamus Coleman early in the Icelander’s Ireland reign and is a first-choice centre-back.

Should the injury rule him out of international duty, waiting in the wings for a starting slot is John Egan. The Corkman is enjoying a renaissance at Hull City, spearheading their promotion in May and embedded as a cornerstone.

The Tigers haven’t conceded a goal in their three top-flight goals, wins over Manchester United and Coventry City followed by Saturday’s stalemate against Aston Villa.