Republic of Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson has challenged Shane Duffy to bring the "steel" back to his team as he prepares for Nations League showdowns with Finland and England.
The 32-year-old central defender, whose only appearance for Ireland since November last year came in a 2-1 friendly victory over Hungary under interim head coach John O'Shea in June, has been included in a 23-man squad for the League B2 fixtures against the Finns in Dublin on Thursday, 14 November and the trip to Wembley three days later.
Duffy has played his way back into form with Sky Bet Championship Norwich and Hallgrimsson is confident his aggression and power will add something his side was missing in victory over Finland and defeat in Greece last month.
The Icelander said: "In the beginning, we went for the younger players, but I felt - especially last camp and the camp before - there were some areas we can improve.
"For example, we lost a lot of duels, especially against Greece in the first half, and his leadership, his character will probably help us in that area.
"It's good to see what he brings in and I hope they will be the attributes he will come in with, with leadership, a little bit more steel and winning duels, especially set pieces, etc.
"I hope that's what he will bring into the squad at this stage."
Duffy is not the only senior player to return to the Ireland squad with 36-year-old skipper Seamus Coleman, who missed last month's double-header with a foot injury, also included despite his Everton boss Sean Dyche revealing on Thursday he's carrying a hamstring injury.
However, there is once again no place for Wolves full-back Matt Doherty (above), who revealed his displeasure after being left out by Hallgrimsson in October at seeing centre-back Andrew Omobamidele asked to play at right-back ahead of him in Coleman's absence against Greece in September.
Asked about that interview, Hallgrimsson, who once again insisted he had not drawn a line under Doherty's international career, said: "I have to be honest, I didn't read it, I just heard about it.
"But listen, all players should feel that they should be playing, they should have the confidence to feel that they should be playing and I would be unhappy if somebody thought that they didn't deserve to play.
"He has a lot of experience that can help us, but like I said, now we want to test other players in these positions, like I told you before the last camp, that we would use these two camps to explore a bit at least, so that's what we're doing."
This time around, Hallgrimsson will have to do without Ipswich's Chiedozie Ogbene, who is facing up to eight months on the sidelines after undergoing Achilles surgery, Southampton midfielder Will Smallbone, Preston defender Robbie Brady, Ogbene's club-mate Jack Taylor, Aberdeen midfielder Jamie McGrath and Omobamidele through injury.
Sunderland midfielder Alan Browne, like Doherty, has been left out as Hallgrimsson assesses his options, but there are places in the squad for Tom Cannon and Andrew Moran, on loan at Stoke from Leicester and Brighton respectively.
Ireland currently lie third in the group with three points after last month's 2-1 win over the Finns in Helsinki, which was followed by a 2-0 defeat in Greece.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
