Derry City’s Ronan Boyce has been called into the Ireland Under-21 squad in replace of Cardiff City’s Mark McGuinness.

Boyce will meet up with the squad in Reading, England, before the team fly to Bosnia on Tuesday. They take on Bosnia & Herzegovina on Friday at 3.30pm (Irish time) in their first qualifier of the UEFA Under-21 European Championships.

McGuinness had only returned to Cardiff City’s squad on Saturday having been ruled out for a number of weeks through injury.

Republic of Ireland Under-21 Squad

Goalkeepers: Sam Blair (Bury Town, on loan from Norwich City), Brian Maher (Bray Wanderers), Daniel Rose (Schalke 04).

Defenders: Joel Bagan (Cardiff City), Ronan Boyce (Derry City), Andy Lyons (Bohemians), Anselmo Garcia MacNulty (Wolfsburg), Oisin McEntee (Newcastle United), Jake O’Brien (Crystal Palace), Lee O’Connor (Celtic).

Midfielders: Conor Coventry (West Ham United), Dawson Devoy (Bohemians), Ryan Johansson (Fortuna Sittard, on loan from Sevilla), Gavin Kilkenny (Bournemouth), Andrew Moran (Brighton and Hove Albion), Conor Noss (Borussia Möchengladbach), Ross Tierney (Bohemians), Louie Watson (Derby County).

Forwards: Evan Ferguson (Brighton & Hove Albion), Will Ferry (Crawley Town, on loan from Southampton), Joshua ‘JJ’ Kayode (Rotherham United), Ollie O’Neill (Fulham), Colm Whelan (UCD), Tyreik Wright (Salford City, on loan from Aston Villa).

Fixtures - UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers (all times are Irish times)

Friday, September 3 | Bosnia & Herzegovina U21 v Republic of Ireland U21, FF BH Football Training Centre, Zenica, Bosnia & Herzegovina, KO: 3.30pm

Tuesday, September 7 | Luxembourg U21 v Republic of Ireland U21, Stade Jos Nosbaum, Dudelange, Luxembourg, KO: 3pm