Treacy: Initial omission from Ireland squad 'reinforces' Matt Doherty's status under Heimir Hallgrimsson

Former Republic of Ireland winger Keith Treacy believes Heimir Hallgrimsson had been trying to phase Matt Doherty out of the Boys in Green fold as gently as possible before handing the defender a belated call-up as injury cover for this week's UEFA Nations League fixtures against Finland and England.

Doherty was left out of the Ireland squad for the October window despite captain Seamus Coleman's absence leaving a lack of natural full-back depth on the right side.

At the time, manager Hallgrimsson publicly reasoned that his decision did not mark an end to the Wolves full-back's international career but overlooking him was more a case of testing other options with an eye to the longer-term.

In an interview with The42, Doherty subsequently said he tolerated the omission in light of increasingly scarce game-time for Wolves. But his comment that "obviously I should be in the squad, even if I'm not playing or not going to play I should still obviously be in there" did gain widespread attention.

While the 32-year-old may have expected to be called up for this month, Hallgrimsson again left him out, although the Icelandic coach played down the reverberations from the aforementioned interview.

However, amid a host of injuries in the build-up to Thursday's home fixture against Finland, Doherty has now been recalled, with Ireland assistant John O'Shea saying that it was a "straightforward" decision.

The initial omission still leaves a degree of uncertainty about Doherty's overall status at international level under Hallgrimsson, according to Treacy.

"I think (Hallgrimsson's) trying to let him down gently. I think he's trying to phase Matt Doherty out," he told this week's RTÉ Soccer Podcast.

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