Robbie Keane took a full part in the Ireland squad's training this morning in Malahide despite the tragedy that claimed the life of one of his cousins and left another critically ill barely a mile away yesterday.
Before news of the connection to the two men broke, there was a good deal of speculation that the groin problem that that has sidelined the striker for most of the MLS season so far would rule him out of Saturday's game but this doesn't seem to be a significant issue with only his lack of match fitness appearing to be a concern for assistant manager Roy Keane.
“He’s trained today,” said the Corkman. “It’s not ideal with the match time that he’s had, I think it’s one full 90 minutes in a couple of months, but, you know, when the players turn up there will always be issues with one or two of them carrying knocks and getting up to speed with their fitness.
“Robbie has trained today, his fitness is fine but he’s lacking match fitness. There’s not much we can do about that.”
The former Manchetsre United star declined to answer questions about the tragedy but said that the Irish captain’s willingness to train was a sign of his professionalism. “I don’t really know the ins and outs,” he said. “But as you would expect and as far as he’s concerned he’s focusing on the game.”
Harry Arter is out of the match due to the goin and hip problems that had been troubling him on the aftermath of the England match but the rest of the squad continue to prepare for the weekend without any major fitness problems.
Keane says he believes that there is little between the two groups of players and that a handful of personal performances on the evening might decide the matter but he said that everyone involved is aware of what is at stake now that the friendlies are out of the way.
"We have experienced players. You mentioned Robbie, but John O'Shea, Shay Given, there's vast experience right there. Glenn Whelan. these boys know the score. They've been around the block a few times like Martin, myself and Seamus, Wally and Gupps.
“We’re not daft, we know what’s at stake but we’re ready for it. Pressure is part of the game. These are the games you look forward to. We had a couple of friendlies last week with the North and England and that’s all well and good, they were decent games for us, but that was like the foreplay. The action starts on Saturday.”
