Martin O’Neill counts on Seamus Coleman’s determination in recovery
Some estimates have already suggested the Everton man will be out of the game for at least six months.
“I’m not sure, I would only be guessing,” O’Neill told BBC Radio Five Live’s Sportsweek programme.
“Even the doctors and surgeons wouldn’t be terribly sure. Sometimes there are complications afterwards and injuries can be more prolonged; other times it can be clean and clear sailing.
“It will take some time but Seamus has great determination and sometimes those things work very much in your favour, in terms of recovery. He had the operation on Saturday morning at 8.30am: that was successful. He has realised everything that has happened and is obviously very disappointed.
“It will take some time to heal, it’s a double break but it has been pinned up now and screwed in. I know the doctors and surgeons are all very, very pleased with the way the operation has gone and now it’s time for recuperation.
“I saw him the evening of the injury, he was fairly groggy. It’s a devastating blow for the lad. He was having a phenomenal season at his club and a phenomenal season for us as captain.”
Asked if he was angry with Aston Villa defender Neil Taylor, who received a red card for the challenge on Coleman, O’Neill replied: “That’s not for me at this moment. I’ve seen the challenge, I’ve seen the challenge [Gareth Bale’s] on John O’Shea and they are very poor challenges.”
Over the weekend, former Welsh international John Hartson used much stronger language in his condemnation of the tackle on Coleman.
While accepting that Taylor would not have gone in with the intention of injuring his opponent, Hartson described it as “a shocking challenge” and “reckless and irresponsible”.
Irish goalkeeper Darren Randolph had a clear view of the incident and said he knew immediately it was serious.
“Yeah, I could see the tackle and, from where I was, I could see him holding his leg up,” said the West Ham man. “I knew straight away.”
John O’Shea, who required stitches in a shin injury after being caught by a Gareth Bale lunge, is out of the Irish squad for tomorrow’s friendly against Iceland.
James McCarthy, whose hamstring problems saw him pull up in the warm-up on Friday, has also left the camp, as have the Stoke City duo of Glenn Whelan and Jonathan Walters. Birmingham City’s Stephen Gleeson has been called into the squad.
As the Irish management took stock of the events of Friday night, O’Neill decided to give the squad some time off over the weekend.
Following a recovery session on Saturday morning, the players were free until 8pm last night, ahead of the resumption of training at Abbotstown this morning.
In a statement on Coleman’s condition, the FAI said the player “underwent surgery on Saturday morning after fracturing his right tibia and fibula, under the care of the FAI’s orthopaedic surgeon, Professor John O’Byrne and Mr Gary O’Toole, consultant orthopaedic surgeon.”
The Donegal man remained in hospital over the weekend where he was visited by, among others, Martin O’Neill, Roy Keane and Irish team-mates. He was also been inundated with messages from well-wishers.
Summing up Friday’s scoreless draw and the significance of the World Cup qualification point secured by Ireland, O’Neill said yesterday: “It was a tough game and almost like a British affair again, much in the way as we had against Scotland in our Euros qualification group over a year ago.
“The first half was not terrific but the second half improved from our viewpoint and we got very strong towards the end of the game and perhaps could have scored. But Gareth Bale had a good run himself and could have scored at the other end.
“As I said at the very beginning of the campaign, teams are capable of taking points off each other. That has been proved and I think that it will remain so right until the end of it.
"We’re only halfway there and there is still a seriously long way to go. But we have some points on the board which will hopefully stand us in decent stead.”
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