James McCarthy: Injured Crystal Palace midfielder could be a doubt for Republic of Ireland qualifiers
- Published

McCarthy's season has been interrupted by injury
James McCarthy could be a doubt for the Republic of Ireland's opening World Cup qualifiers after being injured again playing for Crystal Palace.
The midfielder, 30, was forced off with a groin problem in the second half of Wednesday's Premier League goalless draw with Manchester United.
He had recently returned after a month on the sidelines with a groin issue.
The Republic begin their qualifying campaign away to Serbia on 24 March.
They follow that up with a home qualifier against Luxembourg three days later and play Qatar in a friendly in Dublin on 30 March.
McCarthy went almost four years without playing international football because of injuries before he returned under manager Stephen Kenny at the end of 2020.
"Yes it's a concern because the injury which kept him out was an injury in the groin region and he felt it again," Palace boss Roy Hodgson said after the Selhurst Park stalemate.
"It is a major concern and if it turns out he can't play in the next couple of games, it will be a major blow for us because I thought he did very well in the 60 minutes he played.
"He is a player we would like to see available but he is another in the course of the season who has missed a lot of games for injury or personal reasons."

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