Republic of Ireland call-up Marc Wilson is relishing the opportunity to put Portsmouth's troubles to one side and test himself against the world's best.

The Pompey defender is set to make his international debut in Tuesday's friendly against Brazil after becoming a regular for his crisis-hit club this season.

Wilson, who was actually born north of the border in Aghagallon, is one of three newcomers along with Wigan's James McCarthy and Manchester City's Greg Cunningham as coach Giovanni Trapattoni prepares for the Euro 2012 qualifiers.

The game against the five-time World Cup winners will be Ireland's first since being denied a place in this summer's finals in a controversial play-off against France and will be a welcome distraction from events at Fratton Park.

Last week Portsmouth became the first Premier League club to go into administration but Wilson is now looking to the future with both club and country.

"Obviously the club has been going through a lot of trouble," said Wilson. "We are in administration now but things are starting to look a little better.

"It has been great for me to get the call-up but I have just been happy playing football. This is my first year playing a full season in the Premier League.

Demanding

"It has been a hard season because it has been very physical, very demanding. If I had been at another club, I would not have played as many games because other players would have come in and you are not as physically drained all time.

"It has been a tough learning curve this year. I prefer to play in a centre midfield holding role but I have been playing at centre-back.

"It is tough competition in the Ireland squad but I am just happy to be here. Hopefully, I can progress further in the future.

"Words could not describe my feeling when I heard about the call-up," he added.

"Brazil are the best team in the world in my opinion. Their record speaks for itself. It is a great game to be involved in and anyone would be proud to be involved in it."

Tuesday's game at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium is the first of four for Ireland before they kick off their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, for which they have been drawn against Russia, Slovakia, Macedonia, Armenia and Andorra.

"I think we can do really well in the group," said Wilson. "We were very unlucky not to get to the World Cup, so we have got a great chance.

"I watched the France game on the television and I could not believe what happened.

Hurting

"A lot of the players are hurting maybe because they didn't get to the World Cup because of a controversial decision. I am sure a lot of them are upset."

Wilson was involved in an eligibility dispute earlier in his career having played for Northern Ireland at both Under-15 and Under-17 level.

He then switched his allegiance to the Republic, representing them at Under-18, Under-19 and Under-21 levels, and he has no regrets.

"I made it clear I wanted to play for the south," Wilson added.

"It has not distracted me at all. I just get on with my football. It was always my dream to play for the Republic. I had grown up supporting them.

"Obviously Northern Ireland want to keep as many talented players as they can and when four or five decide to leave, then that's what is upsetting them.

"It should be down to the player to make that decision and that should be it."

Wayne Rooney is doubtful for England's friendly with Egypt on Wednesday.

Rooney came off the bench in Sunday's Carling Cup final to score his 28th goal of the season and give Manchester United a 2-1 win over Aston Villa.

But United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that the 24-year-old was feeling slight discomfort in his knee after the Wembley showpiece.

The United star will join up with the international squad on Sunday evening to be assessed by England's medical staff before it is confirmed whether he will be available for the World Cup warm-up at Wembley.

"He got a whack right away," said Ferguson.

Complaints

"He has been complaining a little about that for a few weeks and was holding it a bit today.

"In fact, I thought we might have to take him off but he wanted to stay on so it was good.

"The doctors are assessing it and I don't know what England are going to do."

Ferguson revealed he decided weeks ago he would leave Rooney out for the Carling Cup final and instead start with Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen up front.

The decision looked a wise one when Owen, battling to revive his chances of World Cup selection, grabbed a 12th-minute equaliser for United.

But the former Liverpool striker then suffered a hamstring injury and had to be replaced by Rooney just before the break.

Big impact

And the in-form striker ensured United defended the trophy by heading a 74th-minute winner - and he almost headed a second moments later only to see it hit the inside of a post.

"I was chomping at the bit to get on," said Rooney.

"You want to play in finals. Thankfully I have managed to do so and left my mark on the game.

"I knew on Wednesday or Thursday I wouldn't be playing. I had a little bit of a stomach bug and the manager was looking for an excuse to leave me out.

"When he found out about that it made his mind up.

"I was still disappointed but it was the correct decision by the manager."

Robbie Keane has pulled out of the Republic of Ireland squad for Tuesday's friendly against Brazil.

The Football Association of Ireland has confirmed that the Ireland captain is unable to take part in the match at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium due to a knee injury.

The Tottenham striker, who is currently on loan at Celtic, was doubtful for Sunday's Old Firm clash with Rangers.

And although the 29-year-old was passed fit, he aggravated the injury in the 1-0 defeat at Ibrox and will not be risked by Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni.

Hibernian striker Anthony Stokes has been drafted into the squad to replace Keane and could be in line for his fourth cap - and his first since the summer of 2007.

The 21-year-old has come back into the international reckoning after scoring 17 goals for Hibs so far this season.

AC Milan's Champions League hopes have suffered a major blow after top scorer Alexandre Pato limped out of Sunday's league win over Atalanta.

The Brazil star set Milan on course for a 3-1 win with a first-half double at the San Siro but pulled up late on while in full flow, clutching his thigh.

The 20-year-old looked distraught as he headed for the dressing rooms and it was feared he had suffered a recurrence of the adductor injury that recently kept him out for two months.

Pato has only played five games since returning from injury, which included the 3-2 defeat by Manchester United in the first leg of their Champions League knock-out tie.

The Italian giants now face an anxious wait to see if Pato will be fit in time for the second leg at Old Trafford on 10th March.

"We will have to wait 24 to 48 hours before knowing the extent of the injury," said Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani.

Terrible

"Not to have Pato would be terrible. We don't have anyone who can replace him. Without him, we would need to change our tactical set-up."

Pato has been in superb form this season, with Sunday's brace taking his league tally to 12 goals from 17 starts, and he has scored two goals in seven Champions League games.

"We have to see what type of injury he's suffered but it's true that his last injury was to an adductor so that is a little worry," coach Leonardo told Sky Italia.

"It doesn't seem as bad as it seemed on the pitch but it still worries us."

Pato is also hoping to lead Brazil's challenge at this summer's World Cup in South Africa.

Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce bemoaned his side's lack of firepower as his side lost 2-1 to Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

Rovers enjoyed plenty of possession on Merseyside but failed to capitalise on the numerous chances that they created.

Despite starting brightly the visitors went behind to a Steven Gerrard opener on 20 minutes. Keith Andrews levelled from the spot after Jamie Carragher had handled in the area on 40 minutes but Rovers shot themselves in the foot four minutes later when they allowed Fernando Torres to simply tap home.

The difference in finishing between the two sides was there for all to see according to Allardyce but his team's performance at least pleased their boss.

"If we had a goalscorer we would have won, it is that simple," he said.

"Chances came and went and we didn't convert them and unusually we had more chances than Liverpool today.

"But because we failed to convert them and they have Torres and Gerrard, who are superb finishers and superb players, and that is the difference and they made us pay and it is a great shame for the players with the effort they put in and the football they played and the chances they created.

Missed chances

"We can moan about the defending but the quality of their players is what Liverpool are about and why they are at the top of the league most seasons and we didn't have that, so sadly we have not managed to get the result we deserve.

"Even at half-time when we were 2-1 down I felt we were still going to get a result. Certainly we had enough of the lion's share of the play in the second half to get that equaliser but in front of goal we are not good enough at the moment, especially away from home."

The game turned into a somewhat scrappy affair in the second half with numerous Rovers players, notably Pascal Chimbonda and Steven N'Zonzi, finding themselves lucky not to be sent off as tempers flared. But Allardyce insists the Anfield crowd influenced referee Alan Wiley's decisions.

"They are very, very good here at swaying people's decision making process that's what the crowd are good at and the Liverpool team for many, many years have been very, very good at it," he pointed out.

"Our frustration is that we have been deemed to have committed 25 fouls and five bookings and that is totally against the run of play when you look at the other stats and that is the disappointing thing for me."