Tardelli: Given good to go

Republic of Ireland assistant manager Marco Tardelli is adamant goalkeeper Shay Given will be fit to face Croatia on Sunday.

The Aston Villa player has been struggling with a calf injury but the World Cup winning Italian insists the veteran will be fit to add to his 122 caps.

“Today Shay rests because he knows his body. I think he is ready to play,” Tardelli told reporters on Thursday.

“Everything is good. He decides to walk sometime yes and sometime no because he knows.”

Giovanni Trapattoni’s assistant informed the press that there are no other injury worries ahead of the game in Poznan.

“You saw in the training that the players play very well. They run and are happy. After the match against Hungary they feel well,” he said.

“I think in this moment we have ups and downs, but that is normal. Because the other teams have a problem in their preparation and we have a little problem.”

Tardelli went on to dispel rumours that yesterday’s day off for the players was a result of some players complaining about being tired.

“We decide sometimes if it is better to do training or not because we have a feeling that it was better to stay off. All the decision depends on the boss,” he said.

“The players need to recover after the tough seasons and every day we will have the training in the morning until the match.”