SOCCER NEWS: STEVEN REID looks to have played his way back into the reckoning for the Republic of Ireland's World Cup qualifier against Italy next month after coming through Blackburn Rover's League Cup win over Nottingham Forest on Tuesday evening without any problems.

The 28-year-old midfielder, who has spent the best part of the last two seasons battling a succession of injuries, played 75 minutes of the game and while his most significant contribution was probably the concession of a penalty when he handled inside the area, the run-out was seen as another step towards a return to regular first-team action following an appearance last week for the reserves.

Giovanni Trapattoni’s attitude in relation to the player’s fitness was a little contradictory last month in the build-up to the Cyprus game. Several weeks earlier, the veteran coach had identified the October qualifiers (against Italy on the 10th and Montenegro four days later) as the target for having Reid back.

Then, prior to the trip to Nicosia he appeared to suggest that the player, who had limped out of his first match back for Blackburn’s first team with a minor hamstring problem, was unlikely to be ready to face the world champions. Trapattoni, nevertheless, put Reid on standby for the Cyprus and South Africa games.

That caused a fair bit of surprise at Ewood Park where any attempt to actually have him travel and play for the Republic would almost certainly have prompted resistance. Reid, though, is now said to be firmly in contention to feature in this weekend’s Premier League game against Aston Villa and if the Londoner ends up playing a part in both that game and Sunday week’s against Arsenal then it would be impossible for the club to contest a call-up on the basis of the player’s fitness even if there is bound to be some discomfort at the idea of such a highly-rated player doing too much too quickly after such a long time out.

Trapattoni will probably have to second guess Sam Allardyce’s intentions with regard to Reid when he names his squad for the international games tomorrow afternoon in Dublin, but it would seem unthinkable that the Italian would omit the midfielder when he might well be fit enough to play some part.

Reid himself said last week that he was hoping to receive a call up although he did acknowledge that he needed to get more first team football under his belt in the meantime. “We’ve got the games against Italy and Montenegro next month and it’s looking like hopefully we’re going to finish second in the group,” he said. “You never know, though, Italy might slip up.

“Hopefully I will get the call to come into the squad for the Italy game, but I need to get a couple of games for Blackburn first.”

Things are looking bright enough for Trapattoni on other fronts ahead of the squad announcement with most of his key players – the likes of Shay Given and Robbie Keane – showing some decent form of late.

Three of those to have moved clubs since the start of the season – Damien Duff, Kevin Doyle and Richard Dunne – have all turned in strong performances for their new employers over the last week or two and all are on course to start against the Italians.

There is still some doubt about the right back position – sometimes occupied by Reid at Blackburn, as it happens – with Paul McShane having played a couple of full games for Hull City since the game against South Africa in Limerick earlier in the month, but Steve Finnan is said to be a week or two away from making his debut for Portsmouth.

McShane is set to challenge John O’Shea for the position with Trapattoni having to weigh up whether he wants to keep Seán St Ledger at centre back but the Italian games will almost certainly come too soon for Finnan despite Paul Hart saying on Monday that he expects to hand the former Liverpool defender his club debut “within two weeks”.

That leaves Saturday week’s visit to Wolves as Finnan’s only realistic chance of a game prior to the international double header and that’s unlikely to be enough to make him a serious contender for an international return this side of possible play-off games in mid-November.

Sunderland boss Steve Bruce, meanwhile, has said Daryl Murphy will be staying at the club for the present, despite the 26-year-old being repeatedly linked with moves away, primarily to Ipswich.

“We haven’t got a lot of players to choose from right now,” said Bruce. “So David Healy is staying at Sunderland and so is Daryl Murphy for the next two or three months at least because the numbers we have to call on is small, in that respect. I took a decision that the money we were offered for some of our squad players was too good to turn down. But, as things stand now, we really can’t let any more go.”