Giovanni Trapattoni has left Sunderland winger James McClean OUT of his squad to play the Czech Republic at the end of the month.
In effect it will now take an injury crisis to give the Derry born youngster any chance of making the plane to Poland for Euro 2012.
McClean received his international clearance from FIFA to switch allegiances from North to South on Thursday night.
But Trapattoni has ignored his claims for now and left him out of the 24 man squad that will face the Czechs in the penultimate friendly before he announces his playing rota for the Europeans.
Also missing are Wes Hoolahan, Stephen Ireland, Anthony Pilkington, Paul McShane, Ciaran Clark and Andy Keogh.
Making the announcement, the Republic of Ireland manager said: “This game is the beginning of our Euro 2012 preparations.
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“As we face this fixture, it is important for our players to remember the attitude and performance that brought us qualification.
“The Czech Republic are a strong team, and their system is similar to Croatia and Spain. This game is vital in helping us choose our 23-player squad for May.
“We will continue to monitor our players afterwards, and keep a close eye on their fitness in the coming months.”
Republic of Ireland squad to face the Czech Republic:
Goalkeepers: Shay Given (Aston Villa), Keiren Westwood (Sunderland), David Forde (Millwall).
Defenders: John O’Shea (Sunderland), Stephen Kelly (Fulham), Stephen Ward (Wolves), Richard Dunne (Aston Villa), Sean St Ledger (Leicester City), Darren O’Dea (Leeds United).
Midfielders: Kevin Foley (Wolves), Glenn Whelan (Stoke City), James McCarthy (Wigan Athletic), Seamus Coleman (Everton), Keith Andrews (West Brom), Keith Fahey (Birmingham City), Darron Gibson (Everton), Damien Duff (Fulham), Aiden McGeady (Spartak Moscow), Stephen Hunt (Wolves).
Forwards: Robbie Keane (Aston Villa), Kevin Doyle (Wolves), Shane Long (West Brom), Simon Cox (West Brom), Jon Walters (Stoke City).
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