Hearts' Glenn Whelan earns international call-up

Glenn Whelan could add to his 86 Irish caps if he features against Switzerland or Bulgaria next month

Hearts midfielder Glenn Whelan has been named in Mick McCarthy's Republic of Ireland squad for their matches against Switzerland and Bulgaria next month.

The 35-year-old, who made his debut for the Capital club last weekend against Celtic, is in line to add to his 86 caps for his country.

Whelan is the fourth Hearts player to receive a full international call-up after Steven Naismith, Michael Smith and Conor Washington, while young duo Aaron Hickey and Alex Petkov have been called up to the Scotland Under-19s and Bulgaria Under-21s respectively.

There is no place in the Irish squad for Colin Doyle, whose last involvement was in the squad to face Denmark in November 2018.

Whelan is the sole Scottish-based player in the squad, with no place for Hibs winger Daryl Horgan.