Seamus Coleman has been ruled out of Ireland’s friendly clash with Hungary on Tuesday.
The captain carried a hamstring injury into last week’s Spanish training camp and missed Thursday’s 4-1 win in Andorra.
Everton ace Coleman was hoping to feature against Hungary but lost his fitness battle today and has returned home.
Stephen Kenny has not called up a replacement and the squad is travelling to Budapest today from its base in Girona, Spain.
Last week, Kenny hailed Coleman for travelling to Spain despite struggling with the injury shipped against Wolves.
Kenny said: “That speaks volumes about him. He tweaked his hamstring and that probably would have ruled out other players for this camp.
“The three players with the most caps, Seamus, James McClean and Shane Duffy are here and it shows what it means to them to play for Ireland.”
Euro 2020 finalist Hungary - who beat Cyprus 1-0 on Friday - hope to have a full crowd at Tuesday's game.
And Tottenham’s Matt Doherty, who is set to start at right-back, said: “If that’s true I’ll be absolutely delighted.
“I played in the last game of the season against Leicester and there were 10,000 maybe and you could hear the atmosphere and it felt a lot better.
“For me, fans in the stadium make a difference to my game. With it being on grass as well, I’m even more excited for Tuesday than I was.”
Republic of Ireland Squad - Hungary
Goalkeepers: Caoimhin Kelleher (Liverpool), Gavin Bazunu (Rochdale, on loan from Manchester City), Mark Travers (AFC Bournemouth).
Defenders: Matt Doherty (Tottenham Hotspur), Lee O’Connor (Tranmere Rovers, on loan from Celtic), James McClean (Stoke City), Ryan Manning (Swansea City), Shane Duffy (Brighton and Hove Albion), Dara O’Shea (West Bromwich Albion), John Egan (Sheffield United), Andrew Omobamidele (Norwich City).
Midfielders: Josh Cullen (Anderlecht), Conor Hourihane (Swansea City, on loan from Aston Villa), Harry Arter (Nottingham Forest), Jason Knight (Derby County), Jayson Molumby (Preston North End, on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion), Jamie McGrath (St. Mirren), Daniel Mandroiu (Shamrock Rovers).
Forwards: James Collins (Cardiff City), Adam Idah (Norwich City), Troy Parrott (Tottenham Hotspur), Chiedozie Ogbene (Rotherham United), Ronan Curtis (Portsmouth), Daryl Horgan (Wycombe Wanderers).
