'Purely on player welfare': Hopcroft called up to Ireland squad but O'Sullivan forced to wait

The Girls in Green take on Kazakhstan over two legs.

Ireland head coach Carla Ward. Pic: INPHO/Nick Elliott

Crystal Palace midfielder Shanade Hopcroft is a surprise inclusion in Carla Ward's Ireland squad for the World Cup play-off semi-final against Kazakhstan.

The 28-year-old is eligible through her grandmother, who hails from Sligo.

The Girls in Green will line out in Astana on October 9, before the return leg in Cork the following Tuesday. 

Should they progress, they'll take on either Poland or Belgium in a play-off final.

Ruesha Littlejohn -- currently without a club -- is omitted from the squad for the two-legged fixture.

Chelsea star and Ireland captain Katie McCabe and Marissa Sheva are suspended for the first leg. 

Denise O'Sullivan will sit out the Astana game, due to load management, but is expected to feature in front of her hometown crowd at Páirc Ui Chaoimh, though fellow Cork star Saoirse Noonan misses out through injury, as does Tara O'Hanlon.

On Littlejohn's absence, manager Ward said: "The door’s well and truly open for Ruesha. As you know, I’ve huge admiration for Ruesh. 

"I had [her at] two clubs and now have the joy of working with her here. What she offers the group, we don’t have that, it’s unrivalled. She leads the leaders, she helps the younger players, and she’ll be a huge loss. 

"I find it crazy that she doesn’t have a club, but we know nowadays it’s not all about what you do on the pitch. I think that what people don’t see is, when Ruesha Littlejohn walks through the doors, she is a top, top, top pro. 

"Somebody that works extremely hard, sets a good level and standard. I’m clear with her, the door’s open, and it will remain open. I hope she gets the club, and if she doesn’t, I’ll be knocking on the door of the senior bosses, saying we need to keep her in some capacity. 

"What she can offer is massive."

On the decision to leave Cork native O'Sullivan out of the Astana trip, Ward added: "She said, ‘Gaffer, I want to play, I want to come!’ Denise wants to play every single possible minute going. I absolutely love that mindset. 

"She just wants to wear the Ireland shirt at any possible point she can. We also have to look after her. She’s played an awful lot of minutes, she’s recovering from an injury and she’s come back. 

"I just think the travel, along with the artificial pitch, I took the decision purely on player welfare and trying to have her ready for Cork. It was a conversation of, ‘I know you want to play, but we’ve got to look after you’."

Republic of Ireland squad 

Goalkeepers: Courtney Brosnan (Everton), Grace Moloney (Southampton), Sophie Whitehouse (Charlton Athletic) 

Defenders: Aoife Mannion (Newcastle United), Heather Payne (Leicester City), Anna Patten (Aston Villa), Caitlin Hayes (Brighton & Hove Albion), Jessie Stapleton (Leicester City), Megan Connolly (Lazio), Hayley Nolan (Crystal Palace), Chloe Mustaki (Nottingham Forest), Katie McCabe (Chelsea) 

Midfielders: Denise O'Sullivan (Gotham FC), Marissa Sheva (Sunderland), Aoibheann Clancy (Watford), Jamie Finn (Burnley), Lucy Quinn (Sheffield United), Tyler Toland (Burnley), Jess Ziu (Leicester City), Shanade Hopcroft (Crystal Palace) 

Forwards: Kyra Carusa (HB Køge), Amber Barrett (Strasbourg), Abbie Larkin (Crystal Palace), Emily Murphy (Brighton & Hove Albion), Leanne Kiernan (Newcastle United)