OWEN Garvan has taken another step closer to winning his first senior cap after making the cut as Giovanni Trapattoni trimmed his initial 40-man squad to 28.

Derek Davis

OWEN Garvan has taken another step closer to winning his first senior cap after making the cut as Giovanni Trapattoni trimmed his initial 40-man squad to 28.

Garvan, who future at Ipswich Town is in doubt, will hope to make his full Republic of Ireland debut when they take on Serbia at Croke Park in Dublin on Saturday, May 24, and then Colombia a week late at Fulham's Craven Cottage.

The 20-year-old midfielder impressed Under 21s boss Don Given against England earlier this year and hopes this call up gives him a chance to catch Trapattoni's eye.

Garvan said: “Hopefully this is a sign that I'm making progress.

“It should be a great experience and I'm really looking forward to it. With a new manager in charge it is a chance for some of the younger players to make an impression.”

Garvan has yet to agree a new two-year extension offered to him in March and even though he still has one year on his current deal there are fears he will leave for a Premier League club in the summer.

Garvan was visibly emotional as he bade Town fans farewell following the 1-0 win over Hull City on the last day of the season and was known to be unsettled last year.

Jon Walters, Alex Bruce and Alan Lee have not been called up although Bruce and Walters may be involved in a 'B' international later this year.

Shane Supple has missed out on the Republic's Under 21 squad that play in a Malaysian tournament starting next week as he has a problem with a finger joint.

Supple is on loan with Falkirk and even though he has been able to train and wants to play in their remaining SPL fixtures, will not be risked in an international friendlies.

Town team-mate Billy Clarke, who is also on loan at Falkirk, will join the party that meet Iran, Malaysia and Nigeria.

Velice Sumulikoski has also pulled out of the Macedonian squad that is due to play next week as he wants to recover from a partially torn leg artery.