Keane the latest injury concern
The LA Galaxy man was forced to sit out the squad session in Malahide yesterday after incurring a knock in training on Tuesday in a challenge with Paul McShane. But while assistant manager Marco Tardelli was insistent Keane would be fit for the fray tomorrow night, the player himself sounded far from certain about his prospects of playing against the Germans.
“I’ve had a problem with my Achilles for a while,” he explained at Gannon Park yesterday. “I got a kick on it yesterday (Tuesday) in training and it has swollen up. I’ve had a scan on it and I’ll see how it goes tomorrow at training. It’s a bit sore but I hope to play.”
Tardelli, in stark contrast, was playing down the seriousness of the knock, claiming that Keane was “physically perfect, no problem” and even suggesting that the player might just have been feeling tired after his long trip from LA.
The reality, however, would appear to be that Keane will have to be monitored very closely today to see if the situation is more serious than Tardelli was perhaps prepared to acknowledge.
As the skipper was forced to keep a watching brief at training, West Brom’s Shane Long played at the apex of the Irish attack in a formation which once again pointed to the home side using three men in the middle — Keith Fahey, James McCarthy and Keith Andrews — against Germany.
Andrews cut short his own involvement in yesterday’s training session to join Keane in the dugout but the Bolton midfielder — who has been troubled by an Achilles problem of his own recently — explained later that he was just taking advantage of some additional rest and has no injury worries. “Keith decided to stay on bench after the tactical training,” Tardelli confirmed. “He feels well but decided to rest. There is no problem.”
The Italian also confirmed Trapattoni will make a decision today on whether Fulham’s Stephen Kelly or Everton’s Seamus Coleman will be deployed at right-back, both men having been tried in that position over the course of the last few days.
“During the training (today) we will understand if it’s better the one or the other,” Tardelli said. “We know Kelly is more defensive, Coleman no. But we will decide.”
Though it would be something of a surprise if any of them got to feature tomorrow night, the presence of young guns Robbie Brady, David Meyler and now Conor Clifford in the current squad strongly suggests the Irish management team have one eye on the long-term future.
“We are working in the long term always because we think it is possible to stay here for 10 years,” said Tardelli with a smile.
“For me and Giovanni, we want to stay on for the long term because it is the right approach. Of course, I don’t know if I will be here, as, in football, anything can happen. But I think it is better for the FAI that we work for the future.”
Even though Jon Walters looks set to lose out to Simon Cox for a starting position out wide tomorrow, the Stoke man is ready to play his part in the new formation if required.
“It’s the position I’m playing in now with Stoke week in, week out, in the Premier League,” he pointed out yesterday, “and it’s a position I’m really enjoying, on the right or left.”
Walters — who renewed acquaintance with his one-time Scunthorpe manager Brian Laws at Gannon Park, after the current Shamrock Rovers boss dropped in to observe proceedings — doesn’t think the Irish will struggle to adapt to 4-3-3/4-5-1.
“Well you say it’s a formation change here but I think I’m used to that formation, playing in the Premier League, and I think James McCarthy is used to that formation at Wigan. All of the lads play different formations in every team they play in. So I don’t think it’s a case of everyone having to get used to what they’re doing but, if they don’t, it’s up to the manager to explain it to them and talk them through it, step by step.
“I think with the three in midfield the onus is on us to keep the ball a bit better and dominate midfield really. That’s what we’ve done at Stoke. And you do get a lot more chances going forward with a lot of runners looking to get behind and support the lone striker.
“You’re going to be defending for a lot of the game but at Stoke we press high up and so we tend to get the ball back in the opposition half. Sometimes you can get it on the edge of their 18-yard area and force them into mistakes; that’s how you can get the chances and the goals.”
Tardelli appeared to underline the extent of the tactical departure under consideration when he concluded yesterday: “For us, it’s very important to play football against Germany because if we play well in midfield, it is possible to retain possession. And that’s important.”
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