Chieo heads home

CHIEO Ogbene has been allowed to rest up at home rather than joining the first-team squad in Cyprus.

His latest stint with the Republic of Ireland included training, a substitute's appearance against Norway and 70 minutes against Malta.

Rather than risk overloading the player, recently recovered from a hamstring problem, the club has played safe.

Manager Matt Taylor said: “We're in constant contact with Chieo and the doctors at Ireland and he seems to have come through unscathed, which we are pleased with because with him coming back from a hamstring injury we were a little bit worried about what his load would have been.

“We'll meet up with Chieo next week and I look forward to a full week training with him and getting back in the group.