Southampton striker Shane Long has been ruled out of Ireland's two European Championship games after sustaining a hamstring injury in Monday morning's squad training session at the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown.

The 32-year-old seemed unlikely to start the game in Copenhagen on Friday evening but would have been regarded as an important option for manager Mick McCarthy, especially after having hit a bit of form towards the end of the club season with the Irishman scoring four goals in seven appearances.

The Tipperary born striker made only two appearances over the course of the past year for Ireland and has not scored an international goal since the 3-1 win in Moldova two and a half years ago, but he did feature in both of the recent draws away to Denmark and is valued for his work-rate and ability to bring other players into the attack.

After the game against the Danes, McCarthy and his players return home to Dublin where they will take on Gibraltar next Monday evening.