Gillingham loan player Tom O’Connor was an unused substitute for Republic of Ireland’s under-21 side on Tuesday.

O’Connor has been unavailable for Gills’ last two games, including Saturday’s match against Oxford United, but is now expected back for the visit to MK Dons this weekend.

The 21-year-old Southampton player returned to the Gills at the end of September on loan for the remainder of the season and played 77 minutes in the game against Shrewsbury.

His call-up meant he missed Gills’ next league game as he was part of the Republic of Ireland squad for the match against Italy in the UEFA Under-21 European Championship qualifiers.

Italy, who played a younger than expected team after a Covid outbreak among their under-21s, won the match 2-0 in Pisa. It was a first game in charge for new Republic boss Jim Crawford.

O’Connor could be involved again for the national team in their final two qualifiers, facing Iceland on November 11 and Luxembourg five days later.

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