Family bereavement sees O'Shea withdraw from squad

John O’ Shea has withdrawn from the Republic of Ireland squad to face Spain in New York on Tuesday following the death of his uncle.

The Sunderland defender was due to fly out of Dublin with his team-mates this afternoon, but left the camp after learning that his uncle, Jimmy O’Leary, had died.

A spokesman for the Football Association of Ireland said: “The FAI, the Irish team management, backroom team and players all offer their sincere condolences to John O’Shea on the death of his Uncle, Jimmy O’Leary, in Waterford this morning.”

O’Shea is one of nine members of the squad who will not make the trip with Shane Long and Aiden McGeady excused because they are getting married, Marc Wilson scheduled to undergo surgery to remove a metal plate from his leg, Glenn Whelan rested and Keiren Westwood, Wes Hoolahan and Jon Walters injured.