Martin O’Neill is likely to make a call on James McCarthy’s fitness tomorrow when the Irish squad is due to train in Malahide for the last time before flying to Glasgow for Friday’s European Championship qualifier against Scotland.
The Everton midfielder played almost no part in this morning’s session, passing much of the time walking around the training pitch with a member of the association’s medical staff, and he is due to have another scan on his hamstring this afternoon but O’Neill insists that he is progressing although it remains unclear whether the game might just come too soon for him.
“James is feeling better today,” said the manager after training today. “He didn’t do any work today, just a little walk, but it’s only a few days since the injury. There’s the possibility of him joining in over the next couple of days but for the moment that’s all it was, a bit of a walk.
“He’s going for a scan this afternoon but he is feeling better. We’ll see what tomorrow might bring. If he’s fit to play and wants to play then fine.
Asked whether he might yet risk both McCarthy and Glenn Whelan, who did train again today, O'Neill batted the issue away. "I don't know," he said. "It's a long way away and I'm not going to be picking the team here today."
The northerner did seem to give some small indication of his thinking on Friday's line up in a 12-aside training game that had taken place a little earlier. Richard Keogh partnered John O'Shea in central defence, as he expected to at Celtic Park, while Robbie Keane played up front with Shane Long and James McClean and Aiden McGeady were out wide.
Cyrus Christie is highly unlikely to displace Seamus Coleman at right back although he did get to play there in this session but perhaps most interesting was the midfield trio of Darron Gibson, Jeff Hendrick and Stephen Quinn which has the potential to the line up O'Neill goes with in Glasgow in the event that neither McCarthy not Whelan are reckoned to be fit enough to start.
Gibson’s game time for Everton against Sunderland over the weekend has certainly boosted his chance in the manager’s eyes as he suggested afterwards while Hendick’s goals for Derby have bolstered his case for inclusion.
