Jeff Hendrick and Conor SammonJEFF Hendrick and Conor Sammon are hoping to earn their second full international caps tomorrow when the Republic of Ireland take on Sweden in Stockholm, kick-off 7.45pm.
The Derby County duo were selected in Giovanni Trapatoni’s 23-man squad for the World Cup qualifiers against the Scandinavians and against Austria next Tuesday, although they have missed out on the starting XI tomorrow night.
And Hendrick, who impressed off the bench in last month’s friendly win over Poland last month, revealed he was “proud” at getting the nod again.
He said: “It’s always a proud moment to get selected for your country and it’ll be good to get amongst the squad again.
“It’s two tough games for us and we’ll just see how it goes.
“But it’s good just to be involved and a great honour for me.”
The 20-year-old arrived in Malahide with the rest of the squad last weekend for a week of training ahead of the game, and will probably be in close quarters with Sammon.
He said: “It’s good because we know each other well and it helps you settle in.
“I know one or two of the other lads, but I roomed with him last time and I’ll probably room with him again.”
Sammon played the full 90 minutes against the Poles, while Rams skipper Richard Keogh also came off the bench, but missed out on the squad this time around.
Trapattoni said: “As a manager, I am sometimes faced with some very tough decisions, but I feel that the squad I have chosen will get us the results we need from these two qualifiers. I have not made these choices lightly, and will continue to monitor each player’s progress ahead of our next challenges.”
