Republic of Ireland defender Paul McShane has been hit by a pre-season injury and will miss the start of the English season. Crucially for Ireland though, he is set to be out injured for at least three months – ruling him out until at least mid to late October. That would see him miss all of Ireland’s three remaining World Cup qualifiers.

McShane picked up a knee injury in Sunderland’s pre-season win over Darlington on Thursday. However, it was later found that the injury will require surgery. Now set to miss such a crucial part of the English pre-season, it seems unlikely McShane would be fit to play for Ireland again before 2010 – meaning he is already doubtful for any potential qualifying play-offs.

Quoted on the official Sunderland website, manager Steve Bruce said, “This news is exactly what we didn’t want and now we will be without Paul for a while.”

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