For better or for worse, the return of international football is just around corner.
Ireland will open their World Cup qualifying campaign in just over a week, with fixtures against Serbia and Luxembourg before a friendly against Qatar.
Stephen Kenny will be keen to get the group off to a strong start, but his preparations have been hit by yet another injury bug.
Here are some of the players who are unavailable: Darren Randolph, Nathan Collins, Jack Byrne, John Egan, Harry Arter, Will Smallbone, Michael Obafemi.
There are also doubts surrounding a number of other potential squad members, but what about the players who will be available?
We have had a look at all the potential inclusions in this month's squad, telling you if their form has been trending upwards or downwards in recent times. It's certainly fair to say that it is a mixed bag.
(All stats include competitive first team games this season only.)
Trending Up
Caoimhín Kelleher - Liverpool
Appearances: Five
Goals Conceded: Three
Clean Sheets: Two
Recent Form: Kelleher has been suffering with a small injury as of late, but was due to return to training in recent days. He has greatly impressed during his limited opportunities for Liverpool this season and looks set to start in Serbia if he is fit.
Gavin Bazunu - Rochdale (on loan from Manchester City)
Appearances: 30
Goals Conceded: 54
Clean Sheets: Five
Recent Form: Bazunu has been very impressive this season despite Rochdale's struggles at the back. He has played every game this season since his loan move to League One.
He is nailed on for the squad at this stage and could start in Belgrade if Kelleher is unavailable.
Seamus Coleman - Everton
Appearances: 21
Goals: None
Assists: One
Clean Sheets: Five
Recent Form: Coleman has largely been in excellent form for Everton this season, even if he hasn't been an automatic starter. He recently missed three games due to injury but made his return off the bench against Burnley on Saturday.
Matt Doherty - Spurs
Appearances: 26
Goals: None
Assists: Four
Clean Sheets: Ten
Recent Form: After falling out of favour at the turn of the year (many of the above appearances were off the bench), Doherty has been back in the Spurs team recently. His start against Arsenal yesterday was his third consecutive in the league, although it's fair to say he didn't have his best game in the North London derby.
Cyrus Christie - Nottingham Forest (on loan from Fulham)
Appearances: 34
Goals: None
Assists: Four
Recent Form: Christie has played the full 90 minutes in every Championship fixture since joining Forest, putting in some excellent performances. He is perhaps unlucky to be behind Coleman and Doherty in the pecking order, with few Irish players able to match his minute total this season.
Dara O'Shea - West Brom
Appearances: 25
Goals: None
Assists: None
Clean Sheets: Five
Recent Form: O'Shea has cemented a place in the West Brom team under Sam Allardyce, starting in each of their last five Premier League games. You'd imagine he will start against Serbia.
Ciaran Clark - Newcastle United
Appearances: 21
Goals: One
Assists: None
Clean Sheets: Six
Recent Form: Clark has played well at the back despite Newcastle's recent struggles. He has also started 15 of their last 19 league games, missing three fixtures due to injury.
Darragh Lenihan - Blackburn Rovers
Appearances: 34
Goals: None
Assists: One
Clean Sheets: Nine
Recent Form: Lenihan has captained Blackburn in every game has played this season, missing only a handful thanks to injury or suspension. Few Irish players have played more minutes than the Meath man this season.
Enda Stevens - Sheffield United
Appearances: 22
Goals: None
Assists: None
Clean Sheets: One
Recent Form: A couple of slight injury issues aside, Stevens has been an automatic starter at Sheffield United once again this season.
Ryan Manning - Swansea City
Appearances: 14
Goals: None
Assists: Five
Clean Sheets: Three
Recent Form: After struggling for playing time early in the campaign, Manning's minutes have steadily increased as the season has gone on. He has started three of Swansea's last four league fixtures and is in decent form.
Conor Hourihane - Swansea City (on loan from Aston Villa)
Appearances: 18 (five for Aston Villa)
Goals: Six (one for Aston Villa)
Assists: Two (one for Aston Villa)
Recent Form: Hourihane has been on fire for Swansea City since joining in January, netting five goals in 11 Championship appearances. He has done so in an advanced midfield role and looks set to be a key player for Ireland later this month.
Josh Cullen - Anderlecht
Appearances: 21
Goals: None
Assists: None
Recent Form: Cullen has been in superb form since his move to Belgium, establishing himself as an automatic started in recent months. Stephen Kenny has already confirmed that he will be in the squad this month and we wouldn't be surprised to see him start in a holding role against Serbia or Luxembourg.
Jason Knight - Derby County
Appearances: 37
Goals: Three
Assists: None
Recent Form: Despite only turning 20-years old last month, Knight has made more appearances this season than all but one other player on this list. He has been in fantastic form since Wayne Rooney's appointment at Derby and will surely start for Ireland this month.
Alan Browne - Preston North End
Appearances: 34
Goals: Three
Assists: Two
Recent Form: Alan Browne has captained Preston in every one of his league appearances this season, starting all 31 games he has been available for. Stephen Kenny mentioned last week that he sees this as being a potentially big campaign for the 25-year old, meaning we can expect to see him feature this month.
James McClean - Stoke City
Appearances: 28
Goals: Two
Assists: Three
Recent Form: McClean had been in fine form for Stoke City before picking up a foot injury that initially looked as though it would rule him out of the games this month. However, he has reportedly been ahead of schedule in his recovery and could yet be included in the squad.
Callum O'Dowda - Bristol City
Appearances: 17
Goals: One
Assists: One
Recent Form: O'Dowda missed almost three months of action after suffering a hamstring injury, but made his return over the weekend. He scored in the win over Birmingham City during his 15 minute cameo and could be considered this month.
Troy Parrott - Ipswich Town (on loan from Spurs)
Appearances: 24 (14 for Millwall)
Goals: One
Assists: One (for Millwall)
Recent Form: It has been a difficult season for Parrott, with his move to Millwall not really working out before joining Ipswich in January. He has been in fine form ever since, netting his first goal of the season over the weekend.
Aiden McGeady - Sunderland
Appearances: 22
Goals: Four
Assists: 12
Recent Form: Aiden McGeady has been an absolute tear in recent months. Having come back into the first team picture at Sunderland, he has recorded a remarkable 12 assists, including one in yesterday EFL Trophy final.
Aiden McGeady is absolutely balling out for Sunderland at the minute 👀pic.twitter.com/9iuZ2nDZQ3
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) March 14, 2021
Stephen Kenny admitted that he has been keeping an eye on his progress, but you would think it unlikely he will be included in the squad this month.
Marcus Harness - Portsmouth
Appearances: 39
Goals: Eight
Assists: Eight
Recent Form: This is the first international window Harness will be available to Stephen Kenny and it would not be a surprise to see him in the squad. He is a creative winger, as evidenced by his eight assists this season.
Having just turned 25-year old, he is certainly one that has a future at international level.
Trending Down
Mark Travers - Bournemouth
Appearances: Nine (eight on loan at Swindon Town)
Goals Conceded: 14
Clean Sheets: One
Recent Form: Travers looked like he would get some much needed first team football after a loan move to Swindon Town, but an injury crisis at Bournemouth saw him recalled after only eight games.
He has been sitting on the bench ever since and may well have dropped behind Kelleher and Bazunu in the pecking order for Ireland. He will still be in the squad.
Kieran O'Hara - Burton Albion
Appearances: 17
Goals Conceded: 37
Clean Sheets: None
Recent Form: O'Hara started the season as first choice at Burton, but he has found himself sitting on the bench since the turn of the year after a run of conceding 17 goals in four games.
Keiren Westwood - Sheffield Wednesday
Appearances: 13
Goals Conceded: 14
Clean Sheets: Four
Recent Form: Westwood spent 12 months outside the first team picture at Hillsborough but managed to fight his way back into the team after the sacking of Garry Monk.
He recently missed four games but was back in the team at the weekend. The 36-year old has only missed a handful of games since mid December.
Shane Duffy - Celtic
Appearances: 25
Goals: Three
Assists: One
Clean Sheets: Nine
Recent Form: It has been well publicised at this stage that Shane Duffy's season at Celtic has not gone to plan. He has fallen down the pecking order at centre back after some very poor performances, starting only one of their last eight league games.
It will be interesting to see if Stephen Kenny trusts him to produce his best form for Ireland this month.
Kevin Long - Burnley
Appearances: 12
Goals: One
Assists: None
Clean Sheets: Three
Recent Form: Long had a run in the Burnley side early in the season thanks to injuries to Ben Mee and James Tarkowski, but he has since only started one league game since October.
James McCarthy - Crystal Palace
Appearances: 12
Goals: None
Assists: None
Recent Form: After playing big minutes last season and starting the current campaign as first choice, McCarthy has found himself on the outside looking in at Crystal Palace recently. He has started only three league games since early October.
Robbie Brady - Burnley
Appearances: 21
Goals: One
Assists: One
Recent Form: After putting a good run of games together at the turn of the year, Brady has reverted to the substitute role we have become accustomed to seeing. He has not started a league game since January, although injury has had an impact.
Jayson Molumby - Preston North End (on loan From Brighton)
Appearances: 14 (three at Brighton)
Goals: None
Assists: One
Recent Form: Molumby got a good run in the Preston team after joining in January, but has featured only twice in their last five games. One of those appearances was a one-minute cameo off the bench, meaning his loan experience is not necessarily going the way he would have hoped.
Jeff Hendrick - Newcastle United
Appearances: 19
Goals: Two
Assists: One
Recent Form: Hendrick has not been at his best for Newcastle this season. He put in a number of poor performances at the turn of the year, culminating in his red card at Southampton.
He has struggled to get into the team since then, although he did start the drawn game against West Brom recently.
Aaron Connolly - Brighton
Appearances: 15
Goals: Two
Assists: One
Recent Form: Connolly has been unlucky with injuries this season, seemingly picking up a knock whenever he finds some form, something that has contributed to his place on this list. He is currently nursing a cracked rib and will be in a race against time to be fit for the international break.
Adam Idah - Norwich City
Appearances: 16
Goals: Two
Assists: One
Recent Form: Idah has started only one Championship game this season, with his appearances limited to short cameos off the bench. He missed Norwich's win over Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend due to a hernia injury and could be out of the squad this month.
Callum Robinson - West Brom
Appearances: 22
Goals: Three
Assists: None
Recent Form: Robinson was first choice at West Brom for most of the season, but has fallen out of favour recently. He has not featured in any of their last seven league games.
Sean Maguire - Preston North End
Appearances: 27
Goals: Four
Assists: Two
Recent Form: Maguire has struggled with injury in recent months, with last weekend his first league start since mid January. He could be in the squad later this month depending on the availability of other players.
James Collins - Luton Town
Appearances: 33
Goals: 10
Assists: One
Recent Form: Collins was in fantastic goalscoring form early in the campaign, but that has slowed down somewhat in recent weeks. He has found the back of the net only once since his hat-trick against Preston in December, although he has been playing consistent minutes.
Scott Hogan - Birmingham City
Appearances: 28
Goals: Six
Assists: None
Recent Form: Hogan has been the first choice striker at Birmingham City all season, although his goalscoring exploits have not been as impressive as in other seasons. He has only scored three goals since the turn of the year but is playing every week.
Daryl Horgan - Wycombe Wanderers
Appearances: 40 (five for Hibernian)
Goals: One
Assists: Five (two for Hibernian)
Recent Form: Daryl Horgan started the season in fine form, but has struggled as Wycmobe's results worsened. However, the fact that he starts almost every game cannot be ignored.
Ronan Curtis - Portsmouth
Appearances: 36
Goals: Ten
Assists: Seven
Recent Form: Curtis was in excellent form earlier in the campaign, but his goal contributions have dried up somewhat in recent times. He still remains a key player for Portsmouth and plays every week.
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