Trapattoni hospitalised with food poisoning

Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni could miss Wednesday’s friendly against Argentina after being hospitalised with suspected food poisoning.

Trapattoni is currently undergoing tests at Dublin’s Mater Hospital after being taken there early on Tuesday morning following bouts of vomiting.

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) confirmed Trapattoni had been feeling unwell upon his arrival in Ireland on Sunday night. It is understood the illness was caused by shellfish the 71-year-old ate in Italy.

FAI team doctor Alan Byrne said: “Giovanni had been feeling unwell, suffering with nausea and vomiting.

“But late last night he started vomiting more. He called me at 1.45am and it was clear things had changed.

“I wanted more comfort in terms of where we were, so we decided to take him to the Mater where we have launched an investigation.

“He has had blood and urine tests, scans, x-rays and an ECG. Some tests are already known and they are already very good.

“But some are still pending and we may not know the results of those until tomorrow. We need to see how things go over the next 12 to 24 hours.

“It’s not a serious problem, but with shellfish-type food poisoning it can have a greater impact, so everything is just a precaution.

“At the moment he is stable. He has spoken with his wife on a couple of occasions and we are making arrangements for her to come over if she requires.”

His assistant Marco Tardelli will take over training, although he is hopeful Trapattoni will be capable of taking charge of the game at the Republic’s new 50,000-seater Aviva Stadium.