BLACKBURN Rovers midfielder Steven Reid has been named in new Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni's first 40-man squad.

Trapattoni officially takes charge on May 1, and has planned a training camp in the Algarve before friendly matches against Serbia on May 24 and Columbia on May 29.

The 27-year-old hasn't played for the Republic since picking up his back injury against Germany in a Euro qualifier in September 2006.

And since regaining full fitness, Reid has been named in recent squads but was forced to pull out because of a lack of fitness.

But with Reid playing catch-up, fitness-wise, to the rest of his team-mates, this end-of-season get-together will be the ideal opportunity for Reid to get more work under his belt.