Richard Dunne is out of Ireland’s European Championship e warm-up against the Czech Republic at the end of the month – but should be fit for the summer trip to Poland.

Dunne and Aston Villa team-mate Ciaran Clark both picked up injuries at the weekend which could keep them out of action for four weeks.

Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni has already called in Everton youngster Shane Duffy to replace Dunne for the February 29th friendly at the Aviva Stadium.

The big defender suffered a shoulder injury during Sunday’s 1-0 defeat at home to Premier League leaders Manchester City while Clark picked up a knee injury in training.

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Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish told avfc.co.uk after the match: “Dunney’s not going to be back for the next game, that’s for sure.

 “I don’t know at this moment exactly what’s happened. He’s definitely damaged his shoulder which is part of the bad luck we’ve been having recently.

“We have a specialist looking at him. We always have specialists in the crowd for different parts of the body.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen with the big ‘un. I do believe he will be out for at least a month. That’s serious enough.

“In training yesterday Ciaran caught his studs in the turf and he’s tweaked his ligament. It’s a real shame because we had definite plans for him tonight.

“We will lose him for a few weeks. It’s not an overnight return either. It’s knee ligament issues.”