Skipper Dara O’Shea has been left out of the Republic of Ireland squad for their next two friendlies but Blues winger Chieo Ogbene and former Town defender Corrie Ndaba are both included, the latter receiving his first senior call-up.

Ireland host Qatar in Dublin on May 28th before travelling to Canada for another friendly on June 6th.

Manager Heimir Hallgrímsson had been expected to leave out players who have had busy seasons with O’Shea, who skippered the 5-0 friendly defeat of Grenada in Spain yesterday, having played every minute of the Blues’ Championship season.

Ogbene was also in the side yesterday, the wideman, who spent the season on loan at Sheffield United, winning his 33rd cap.

Overall, it was an experimental team which faced the Grenadians with seven players making international debuts, Hallgrímsson having only called up players whose domestic seasons were over for the Murcia-based training camp which preceded the match.

The new squad features only three players from that party – Ogbene, Jayson Molumby and James Abankwah – with a number of Premier League players drafted in as well as new call-ups such as Ndaba, who has just ended his first campaign with Serie A Lecce. One-time loanee Troy Parrott, now with AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands, also comes in.

The 26-year-old Town academy product made four starts and one sub appearance for the Blues, all in cup competitions, spending much of his time at the club on loan.

The Dublin-born left-back or centre-half, who won caps at U18 level while with Town and was named in U21s squads, moved on to the last of those loan sides, Kilmarnock, on a permanent basis in the summer of 2024, then last year moved to Lecce, where he has made six Serie A starts and eight sub appearances.

Kasey McAteer was initially named in the squad for the Grenada match before pulling out with injury, while Jack Taylor and another Town player who has been on loan, Sammie Szmodics, were left out due to ongoing injuries, the midfielder subsequently undergoing knee surgery.

Photo: Reuters