Mick McCarthy has named a 25-man squad for the Euro 2020 qualifier with Switzerland on September 5th - as well as a friendly against Bulgaria.
Robbie Brady misses out on making the final squad, while he didn't play for Burnley in last night's 3-1 defeat to Sunderland in the second round of the EFL Cup.
Other notable exclusions are Southampton's Shane Long and Bournemouth's Harry Arter.
Midfielders James McCarthy, Alan Browne, Alan Judge, and Jack Byrne and goalkeepers Keiren Westwood and Mark Travers are back in the squad.
“The big thing in picking this squad has been game-time for the players,” McCarthy told FAI.ie as international football returns next week.
Speaking following the announcement, McCarthy said, “I named a 40-man provisional squad a fortnight ago because so many of the players had yet to play for their clubs but thankfully that situation has improved dramatically since then.
“I watched James McCarthy play the full 90 minutes for Palace in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday while Alan Kelly was at Burnley on Wednesday night to see Jeff Hendrick and Kevin Long start against Sunderland.
“Alan Browne is back in the team at Preston and Mark Travers started for Bournemouth on Wednesday and saved three penalties. Conor Hourihane scored two goals for Aston Villa at Crewe on Tuesday and Glenn Whelan is playing again now that he has signed for Hearts. It is great to have them back on the pitch ahead of such a big game against the Swiss and then for the friendly against Bulgaria.
“I’m also looking forward to seeing Jack Byrne in action for Rovers against Bohs on Friday night. He got two great goals in Waterford last week and he is the form player for Stephen Bradley right now.”
“I have spoken to Stephen and it is best for the players and our hopes of Under-21 qualification for them to be involved for the Armenia and Swedish games at this stage.
“Robbie has been close to a comeback with Burnley in the past few days but these games have just come too soon for him. We want him back for the games away to Georgia and Switzerland in October.”
“I’ve seen the calls for the supporters to bring the noise to the Aviva and I agree with that. This is a huge game, the biggest in the group to date, and we need a special atmosphere inside the Aviva Stadium against Switzerland with the fans right behind us.”
Republic of Ireland squad for the games against Switzerland and Bulgaria
Goalkeepers
Darren Randolph (Middlesborough)
Keiren Westwood (Sheffield Wednesday)
Mark Travers (Bournemouth)
Defenders
Seamus Coleman (Everton)
Matt Doherty (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Shane Duffy (Brighton & Hove Albion)
Richard Keogh (Derby County)
John Egan (Sheffield United)
Kevin Long (Burnley)
Enda Stevens (Sheffield United)
Midfielders
Alan Judge (Ipswich Town)
Callum O’Dowda (Bristol City)
Alan Browne (Preston North End)
Jack Byrne (Shamrock Rovers)
Jeff Hendrick (Burnley)
Conor Hourihane (Aston Villa)
James McCarthy (Crystal Palace)
Glenn Whelan (Hearts)
Josh Cullen (Charlton Athletic)
James McClean (Stoke City)
Ronan Curtis (Portsmouth)
Forwards:
Callum Robinson (Sheffield United)
Sean Maguire (Preston North End)
Scott Hogan (Stoke City)
David McGoldrick (Sheffield United)
