Ireland skipper Robbie Keane could miss out on Ireland’s crunch clash with Armenia on Tuesday evening after picking up a knock in the routine win over Andorra on Friday night.
The LA Galaxy striker complained of being troubled by an abductor problem on the Ireland squad’s return from Andorra early this morning after the Boys in Green did what they had to with a painfully dull 2-0 victory over one of the lowest ranked sides in the world.
Keane was due to undergo a scan today to undergo the extent of the problem, following which Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni will have a clearer idea of whether or not he will fit to face a vastly improving Armenia outfit.
Ireland need a draw to ensure that they qualify for the play-offs and could do with Keane’s presence on what promises to be a nervy evening at Lansdowne Road.
In better news for Ireland, both Richard Dunne and Jonathan Walters will be available on Tuesday evening.
Man mountain Dunne served a one-match suspension against Andorra and will return to the centre of defence with Darren O’Dea set to lose out, while Walters has recovered from an ankle problem and will add to Trapattoni’s options in attack, where Shane Long will most likely fill in if Keane misses out.
An awful attempt at simulation in Andorra means that Stephen Ward is suspended for the Armenia game and with Kevin Kilbane also unavailable through injury, John O’Shea is likely to switch to left-back with Fulham’s Stephen Kelly coming in at right back.
Ireland take on Armenia at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday at 6.45pm.
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