"I thought he still had a chance at going so he must have had a little bit more of a setback with his medial knee problem and he was pushing hard to get fit for the summer.

"It’s a big shame for him because he was doing everything he could to be fit, but I suppose UT 17 Coins the summer will give him a chance to be back for the pre-season and he’ll want to push hard to get back for the World Cup qualifiers in September. "

Wilson had only played in four Premier League games all season for Stoke, but with Ireland’s tournament opener against Sweden just three weeks away, O’Neill made the decision to remove him from his plans this summer.