Soccer:James McCarthy will miss Euro 2012 after withdrawing from contention for Giovanni Trapattoni's squad following his father's diagnosis with cancer. The Wigan Athletic man, it emerged today, was the player the manager was referring to last week when he said personal circumstances had sadly ruled somebody out.

His misfortune has, it would seem, benefited James McClean, though Trapattoni was keen not to identify who exactly made gains from bad news.

Elsewhere, there are few surprises, with the squad breaking down to three goalkeepers, seven defenders, eight midfielders and five forwards. The standby list of five is goalkeeper Darron Randolph, defender Paul McShane, midfielders Paul Green and Seamus Coleman and forward Andy Keogh.

“It has not been easy to choose 23 players for the squad. Because we have many good players who also deserve to be there,” said the Italian, who insisted he spoke to those on standby and those omitted to reassure them of their futures before the announcement.

Trapattoni did appear to confirm McCarthy was in his plans for the summer before he informed the manager of his position. He has enjoyed an excellent finish to the season with his club and it would hardly have been a surprise had he been heading to Montecatini in Italy later this month, before travelling onwards to Poland to take on Croatia, Spain and Italy.

“I spoke with him but he said that he was psychologically not ready,” said Trapattoni. “It’s difficult for him because the situation is his parents. He said he was sad and not confident about the situation.

“I said ‘okay, think about the future’.”

In a statement included with the FAI’s press release on the squad, McCarthy said: “I have made the very difficult decision to withdraw my name from selection for the Euro 2012 squad, following the diagnosis of my father with cancer and an on-going requirement for treatment.

“I have discussed this with the manager. He was very understanding and I thank him sincerely for that. I take this opportunity to re-affirm my commitment to playing for the Republic of Ireland. It is a huge honour and source of great pride for me and my family.

“Despite not being present, I would like to wish the manager and my teammates every success at the tournament and hope that Irish fans can understand the reason for my decision at this difficult time.”

McClean is hardly a direct replacement for the winger and, indeed, it could be that Keith Fahey has been included because of McCarthy’s absence. Regardless, the manager believes the Sunderland winger can play an important role and is not just going for the experience.

“He can give us energy. I am sure that in the 10 days when we have three (group) games, we need the players and in the second or third game he can be important. That is what he can give us.”

The manager reiterated his “excitement” ahead of Ireland’s first appearance at a major tournament for 10 years. He said he is “curious” to see a “growth in our identity”.

“Our identity keeps improving and we are aware of our limits, we will look to improve during our training camp in Portmarnock and Montecatini.

“There are three way to improve, first recognise our limits, second, want to improve and third, to believe we can achieve and to never give up. Let’s not forget that we have arrived here thanks to team spirit and collaboration of our players.”

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND SQUAD

Goalkeepers:Shay Given (Aston Villa), Keiren Westwood (Sunderland), David Forde Millwall).

Defenders:John O'Shea (Sunderland), Richard Dunne (Aston Villa), Seán St Ledger (Leicester City), Stephen Ward (Wolves), Kevin Foley (Wolves), Stephen Kelly (Fulham), Darren O'Dea (Celtic).

Midfielders:Keith Andrews (West Brom), Glenn Whelan (Stoke), Darron Gibson (Everton), Damien Duff (Fulham), Aiden McGeady (Spartak Moscow), Stephen Hunt (Wolves), Keith Fahey (Birmingham), James McClean (Sunderland).

Forwards:Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy), Kevin Doyle (Wolves), Simon Cox (West Brom), Jon Walters (Stoke), Shane Long (West Brom).

Standby:Darren Randolph (Motherwell), Paul McShane (Crystal Palace), Paul Green (Derby County), Seamus Coleman (Everton), Andy Keogh (Millwall).