Richard Dunne to miss Republic of Ireland friendlies

Richard Dunne

Defender Richard Dunne is to miss the Republic of Ireland's friendly games with Latvia and Poland as he continues to recover from a groin problem.

Irish Under-21s boss Noel King, who took charge for the final two World Cup qualifiers last month, has selected a 27-man squad for the two fixtures.

New Republic manager Martin O'Neill and his assistant Roy Keane signed two-year contracts on Tuesday evening.

The pair will be at the helm for the matches in Dublin and Poznan.

QPR central defender Dunne is still trying to overcome the groin complaint which sidelined him for the whole of last season.

Newcastle goalkeeper Rob Elliot retains his place and Reading's Alex Pearce and Brighton's Stephen Ward are also included.

West Ham full-back Joey O'Brien will get a chance to impress the new management team ahead of the international double-header.

There is also room for Andy Reid, who was exiled from the international scene under former manager Giovanni Trapattoni,

The Republic face Latvia at the Aviva Stadium on Friday 15 November in the new management team's first game, and then travel to Poznan to meet the Poles four days later.

O'Neill and Keane will hold their first training session with the players in Malahide on Monday.

Republic of Ireland squad: David Forde (Millwall), Keiren Westwood (Sunderland), Rob Elliot (Newcastle); Sean St Ledger (Leicester), Marc Wilson (Stoke), Seamus Coleman (Everton), John O'Shea (Sunderland), Alex Pearce (Reading), Stephen Kelly (Reading), Joey O'Brien (West Ham), James McCarthy (Wigan), Ciaran Clark (Aston Villa), Stephen Ward (Brighton); Glenn Whelan (Stoke), Paul Green (Leeds), Andy Reid (Nottingham Forest), Aiden McGeady (Spartak Moscow), Anthony Pilkington (Norwich), James McClean (Wigan), Robbie Brady, Stephen Quinn (both Hull), Wes Hoolahan (Norwich City); Shane Long (West Brom), Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy), Jon Walters (Stoke), Kevin Doyle (Wolves), Anthony Stokes (Celtic).