JEFF Hendrick is back in the Republic of Ireland squad for their crucial World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Wales, but Jon Walters misses out with a knee injury.

Hendrick missed the internationals in September with a thigh injury but the Clarets midfielder has started Burnley's last two games he's included in Martin O'Neill's provisional 32 man squad for the final games in the group.

Hendrick's fellow Clarets Kevin Long, Stephen Ward and Robbie Brady are also in the squad.

But Walters has been absent for Burnley over the past week and his knee injury won't have cleared in time for the games on September 6 and September 9.

After Saturday's 0-0 draw with Huddersfield Burnley boss Sean Dyche said of Walters' knee injury: “We’ve had a specialist look at it just to be sure, but it’s going to take a bit of time I think, to settle, we’re not sure on timescales."

Brady is suspended for the clash with Moldova but he will be able to return for the games with Wales in Cardiff, which could be a shootout for the play-off spot in the group, with Serbia looking set to secure automatic qualification.

That final game could pit Burnley's Irish contingent against their Turf Moor teammate Sam Vokes.

After announcing his provisional squad, O'Neill said: "The Moldova game is everything to us, we have to win this game.

"It'll be a nervy 90 minutes, we've seen this before in a game we're hoping to win. We're going to try to go to Wales with everything to play for so the game has become ultra important.

"We've found the odd hiccup in the last couple of weeks, we can rectify that.

"You want to qualify for competitions, that's my job. We have two games and we know if you win them you would be desperately unlucky not to be in the play-offs."