Quinn out of qualifiers - March 14,
2001
Niall Quinn has been forced to withdraw from the Ireland squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Cyprus. Quinn took the step after Sunderland manager Peter Reid finally decided to accept medical advice and rest the striker for a month.
That means the Dubliner will miss Saturday's Premiership match against Chelsea and won't get the chance to set a new Irish goalscoring record until the visit of Andorra to Ireland in April.
Quinn said: "It's so hard to walk away and take a complete rest.
"I had a couple of months of this back injury and I've tried everything - except an extended break."
Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy is likely to call up Middlesbrough's Keith O'Neill today as replacement.
But, given the manager's penchant for pairing a small striker with a big target man, it is likely that Tottenham's Gary Doherty - whom McCarthy sees as a centre back - may be pressed into emergency service as a striker, alongside Robbie Keane.
The manager had hoped to take another look at the Keane-David Connolly partnership against Denmark. But the cancellation of that match scuppered his plans and now McCarthy is likely to revert to instinct and give Doherty his chance.
Meanwhile, Charlton 'keeper Dean Kiely must pass a fitness test today if he is to travel with the Irish squad to the Mediterranean next week.
Kiely has been out of action since the end of January and is recovering from microsurgery to repair groin damage.