Matt Doherty and James McClean have tested positive for coronavirus ahead of the Republic of Ireland's final Nations League fixture against Bulgaria.

However, the Football Association of Ireland has revealed that the remaining members of the squad, including Rovers central defender Darragh Lenihan, have all returned negative tests.

Doherty and McLean both started Sunday's 1-0 defeat by Wales in Cardiff but have now been isolated from the rest of the group, which flew back to Dublin on Monday.

The development represents a fresh headache for manager Stephen Kenny, who has already lost Callum Robinson and Alan Browne to positive tests this month.

Lenihan was called up to the squad over the weekend, but wasn’t even included among the substitutes against Wales. However, that was owing to the fact that Kenny could only name 12 substitutes for the Nations League clash.

With Seamus Coleman, Enda Stevens and John Egan missing through injury and James McCarthy having withdrawn from the squad for family reasons, Kenny's resources were depleted further at the Cardiff City Stadium by Jeff Hendrick's red card and the booking which will see fellow midfielder Jayson Molumby join him on the suspension list against Bulgaria.

That is likely to see Lenihan, at the very least, included on the bench after being one of four players called up on Saturday.

The defender passed a Covid test before meeting up with his team-mates and has recorded another negative test, the FAI has confirmed.

Ireland need to avoid defeat at the Aviva Stadium to ensure they do not finish bottom of Group B4 and suffer relegation.

Their plans have been hit by unavailability issues, not least fellow Rovers defender Derrick Williams who was forced to self-isolate during the October internationals, and missed the November fixtures after picking up a quadricep injury earlier this month.

A Football Association of Ireland statement said: "The Football Association of Ireland can confirm Ireland defender Matt Doherty and forward James McClean have tested positive for Covid-19.

"The players have been isolated from the group as per Covid-19 protocols, and the HSE have been informed of this development.

"The rest of the staff and squad tested negative ahead of the flight back to Dublin this morning before the UEFA Nations League match against Bulgaria on Wednesday."

Lenihan will be re-tested upon his return to Rovers on Thursday ahead of the weekend trip to Luton Town.