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Republic of Ireland Under-21 manager Stephen Kenny in hospital in Sweden after falling ill

Republic of Ireland under-21 manager Stephen Kenny is in hospital in Sweden after becoming ill af...



Republic of Ireland Under-21 m...
Soccer

Republic of Ireland Under-21 manager Stephen Kenny in hospital in Sweden after falling ill

Republic of Ireland under-21 manager Stephen Kenny is in hospital in Sweden after becoming ill after Tuesday night's win over the Scandinavians.

His side won the game in Kalmar 3-1 after a brace of second-half goals from substitute Troy Parrott, but their manager has remained in the country for medical attention.

The FAI have released a statement this afternoon outlining the situation.

"Republic of Ireland Under 21 boss Stephen Kenny has remained in Sweden after becoming unwell on Wednesday as his squad made their way home from Tuesday night’s European Championship qualifier in Kalmar.

"Stephen was examined by the FAI’s medical staff and decided to stay behind for treatment at a local hospital. Stephen expects to be discharged in the coming days and is looking forward to beginning preparations ahead of the two European Under-21 Championship qualifiers next month."

His side's win on Tuesday evening made it three from three for them in their European Under-21 championship qualifying campaign. They beat Luxembourg 3-1 in their opening game back in March, before an impressive performance in the 1-0 win over Armenia last Friday night at Tallaght Stadium.

The Sweden result was a big boost for the side, and came on the same evening Mick McCarthy's senior team beat Bulgaria 3-1 in a friendly at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Kenny had told Off the Ball before the recent games that he wasn't worried about the hype around his team given their ability to get big results.

"I'm not worried about that at all. I'm not concerned about that at all because I want the players to go and really be confident and express themselves in a confident manner.

"So that doesn't concern me. You want the Under-21 internationals to be events in themselves and that hasn't always been the case. There are some times where I have been at some good games over the years in Sligo and Cork and so forth.

"But I think sometimes there have been small crowds and not a lot of coverage. But we want them to be events in themselves because we want the players to have an incredible desire to play for Ireland at Under-21 and see it as a real vehicle and stepping stone to get into the senior international team."

Kenny is due to take over the Republic of Ireland senior side after the current European Championship campaign - that would mean he would take over from Mick McCarthy after next summer's Euro 2020 tournament should the Republic qualify.

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Dundalk Football Irish Off The Ball Republic Of Ireland Soccer Stephen Kenny Sweden Troy Parrott