Robbie ready to play part for Ireland after injury frustration

ROBBIE KEANE is back on the goal trail but, even as he continues his recovery from injury, he admits that he will be short of 100% match fitness when Ireland play Macedonia in the European Championship qualifier in Dublin on Saturday week.

Having played 25 minutes as a sub for West Ham at Stoke City on Sunday, Keane was back in action again on Tuesday night, scoring for West Ham reserves in a 4-2 win against Newcastle United. The Irish captain crowned an hour-long appearance with a goal in the 47th minute, lashing home from close-range have made himself a yard of space in a crowded box. Keane is ineligible for the London derby against his parent club Spurs on Sunday, following which he will be in line for selection in the internationals games against Macedonia on March 26 and Uruguay on the 29.

However, at his squad announcement earlier this week, Giovanni Trapattoni made clear that the extent of the captain’s involvement in either or both of those games will be contingent on an evaluation of his fitness when he joins up with the Irish squad for their first training session in Malahide on Tuesday. Keane had missed four games for his new club since succumbing to a thigh injury and is pleased to be back in the thick of things.