Paul McShane will captain Republic of Ireland in Tuesday night's friendly against Italy in Belgium.
Hull defender to captain Ireland in Italy friendly
Paul McShane will captain Republic of Ireland in Tuesday night's friendly against Italy in Belgium.
Regular skipper Robbie Keane and veteran goalkeeper Shay Given have been released from the squad for the game in Liege, which will be shown live on
Sky Sports 1 &
Sky Sports HD1.
And with midfielder Glenn Whelan carrying a knock, McShane has been handed the honour of leading his country out at the Maurice Dufrasne Stadium.
The Hull City defender is 25 and will win his 24th cap against Italy after being an unused substitute for Saturday's 2-0 Euro 2012 qualifying win in Macedonia.
Sean St Ledger is set to come into the Republic defence along with McShane while Millwall's David Forde will replace Given in goal.
Changes
Seamus Coleman and Kevin Foley are expected to come into midfield with Andy Keogh partnering Shane Long in attack, replacing Keane and Simon Cox.
But manager Giovanni Trapattoni has doubts over Darren O'Dea and Stephen Hunt.
The Republic boss will finalise his team after training on Monday night, with Stephen Kelly and Liam Lawrence on standby.
