Republic of Ireland assistant coach Roy Keane has hit out at Everton for the injury woes suffered by their Irish players.
Last week, Everton manager Ronald Koeman claimed that his midfielder James McCarthy was pushed too hard by his national side as he played in both World Cup qualifiers in October, despite only just recovering from groin and hamstring injuries.
A fresh hamstring issue forced McCarthy out of the latest Ireland squad for a qualifier against Austria in Vienna, and now Keane has urged the Everton players to "toughen up".
It is not the first time that a row has broken out between the Premier League club and the Football Association of Ireland with regards to team selection; former Everton boss Roberto Martinez also had disagreements with his counterparts.
"We've had a problem with Roberto Martinez previously," The Telegraph quotes Keane as saying. "I always felt the Everton players were going to turn up on crutches or crawling in the hotel door.
"They shouldn't be so quick to stop Irish players coming to play for Ireland. [Darron Gibson] misses a hell of a lot of games for Everton, so maybe they need to look at their own training schedule.
"I'm not sure when they last won a trophy, so maybe as a club, their players need to toughen up a bit."
Ireland are unbeaten in their qualifying campaign, having drawn one and won two in Group D.
Danielle Joynson
