Aaron Connolly: Striker out of Republic of Ireland's next three games through injury
Aaron Connolly was in contention to start for Stephen Kenny's side against England at Wembley; latest setback for the Brighton forward follows his withdrawal last month because of close contact with someone who tested positive for coronavirus
Wednesday 11 November 2020 14:02, UK
Aaron Connolly has been ruled out of the Republic of Ireland's games against England, Wales and Bulgaria through injury.
The Brighton forward will miss the next three matches because of an unspecified injury picked up in training yesterday.
This latest setback for the 20-year-old follows his enforced withdrawal from the squad during the last international break, because of his close proximity on the flight over to someone who later tested positive for coronavirus.
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It saw Connolly miss their Euro 2020 qualifying play-off semi-final defeat to Slovakia, where Stephen Kenny's side were beaten on penalties.
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Preston North End striker Sean Maguire has been called up as a replacement, as Ireland prepare for the first of their three fixtures - a friendly against England on Thursday.
The news coincides with West Brom's Callum Robinson being confirmed as the player in the Ireland camp that tested positive for coronavirus.
Swansea City's Ryan Manning has also been drafted into the squad and will link up with the side ahead of their Nations League match with Wales on Sunday.
Kenny: ROI can't dwell on Grealish and Rice
Stephen Kenny has stressed the Republic of Ireland cannot dwell upon Declan Rice and Jack Grealish switching allegiance to England, with the focus firmly on the future.
West Ham midfielder Rice and Aston Villa captain Grealish are in the England squad for Thursday's friendly against Ireland at Wembley.
Rice made three senior friendly appearances for the Irish before making the switch, while Grealish played up to U21 level.
"I think we have a lot of good players, a lot of talent, and we're not far away from being a very good side," Kenny said.
"I can't worry about other players that could have been part of the equation. We can't really dwell on that from our point of view. We have to look forward and see what players are coming through and what other players emerge."
