We are 55 days until Euro 2016 kicks off and as the tournament gets ever closer, the window begins to shut for injured players looking to prove their fitness for their tournament. There were real hopes that Bournemouth's Harry Arter could force himself into the reckoning in Ireland's midfield for the Euros, that is until he suffered an ankle injury in a game against Southampton on March 1st.
Arter has played 45 minutes of football since that game - the first half of Bournemouth's 3-0 loss to Spurs in mid-March. He was in the Ireland squad for the Switzerland and Slovakia friendlies, only to fly back to England for more treatment, and has not appeared for Bournemouth since.
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe has provided an update on Arter's rehab, and though he was vague, he sounded an ominous note about Arter's availability over the coming weeks.
Harry [Arter] saw a specialist this week for his injury. We are waiting to see the outcome from that before we know whether we will have him back with us this season."
There are five games remaining in the Premier League season and it looks distinctly possible that Arter won't play another game this season. None of this bodes well for him as he tried to prove his fitness for Martin O'Neill.
In other news, Mark Hughes seems distinctly unsure about whether he'll give Shay Given a shot to win the Stoke City #1 jersey for the rest of the season. Jack Butland is out injured for the rest of the season, and even though Jakob Haugaard conceded four against Liverpool last weekend, Mark Hughes doesn't expect to play Given any time soon.
"If I think I need to change then I will do. If I think one option's better than the other, that's my job," Hughes said.
"I'm quite comfortable with the situation, I know I've got two good goalkeepers.
"If Jakob plays he'll be expected to play well and if Shay comes in we'll expect him to play well too - there's always a demand on the person in possession of the shirt."
