Skipper Keane a doubt for showdown after scan reveals muscle injury

ROBBIE KEANE remains a major doubt just 24 hours before Ireland play their final European Championship qualifier against Armenia.

The Ireland skipper didn’t train yesterday after a scan showed blood on a muscle injury in the back of his leg. Assistant manager Marco Tardelli said he didn’t expect Keane would train today either, admitting: “It is a problem. We are hopeful he will recover but it’s difficult.”

It can hardly have helped the captain that he, along with the rest of the squad, endured a long journey through the night back from Andorra to Dublin on Friday. Before the game, Giovanni Trapattoni had been offered various options – including extending Ireland’s trip by one more night — but instead opted for a three-hour bus journey from Andorra to Barcelona and a flight home from the Catalan capital immediately after the game.