Ireland captain Edel Thornton will miss this Sunday's FIBA EuroBasket 2025 qualifier against world number 7 France due to a broken nose.University of Galway Mystics Kara McCleane, who has played with Ireland’s U20’s for the last two seasons, has been called up as a replacement and is in line for her international debut.Thornton picked up the injury playing for club side Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell last month.The 26-year-old was ruled out after a scan on Wednesday morning and Claire Melia now steps up as team captain for this weekend’s game."I’m naturally very disappointed to miss out on this game, as we’ve been building towards this for a number of months," Thornton said."Unfortunately the timeline to recover was against me, but I’ll be staying with the group throughout the week and I know that Claire Melia will do a great job leading the team onto the court on Sunday."Tip-off at the National Basketball Arena is 5pm on Sunday. Ireland Squad Jessica Scannell (Geelong United Supercats, Australia), Michelle Clarke, Claire Melia (Killester), Sorcha Tiernan, Áine O’Connor, Rachel Huijsdens (FloMAX Liffey Celtics), Sarah Hickey, Kate Hickey (SETU Waterford Wildcats), Lauryn Homan (Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell), Hannah Thornton (DCU Mercy), Bridget Herlihy (Ensino Lugo CB, Spain), Kara McCleane (University of Galway Mystics).