Soccer/ World Cup Qualifiers: As was widely feared, Damien Duff has joined Roy Keane on the injured list for the Republic of Ireland's final World Cup qualifying game against Switzerland on Wednesday night. The Chelsea star was forced off after an hour of Saturday's nerve-wracking 1-0 win over Cyprus after suffering a knee injury.

A scan on Duff's knee revealed damage to the cartilage and though the full extent of the problem has not yet been established, it appears that he could now be sidelined him for quite some time.

"Damien had a scan this evening on the knee injury which forced him to retire from the match against Cyprus," said Brian Kerr in a statement issued by the FAI last night. "The scan revealed knee cartilage damage which will certainly keep him out of Wednesday's game against Switzerland. He has returned to Chelsea for further assessment and treatment."

Stephen Carr has also had a scan on a knee problem but in the case of the Newcastle United full-back the result was much more positive and the 29-year-old is expected to train with the rest of the squad this morning.

Kevin Kilbane is set to miss the squad's first full session back in Dublin after picking up a dead leg in the 1-0 win over Cyprus and the midfielder's fitness will be assessed again today. Clinton Morrison, Andy Reid and Gary Breen, who missed Saturday's game either because of suspension or injury, have joined up with the squad and Kerr said that the rest of the players who featured in the Cypriot game have come through it without any problems.

The loss of Duff, however, will come as a major blow to Kerr as he attempts to prepare his players for a game in which they must play a great deal better than they did when winning over the weekend if they are to secure the required win. In his statement, however, the manager said only that he is confident of getting the win the team needs.

"Following last night's results," he said, "the situation is very clear. We need to win on Wednesday and if we win there is no doubt we will at least reach the play-offs. I am confident that if the players play to their full potential and with the kind of support we have had in recent games and the full backing of all those with the interest of Irish football at heart we can achieve the required result."

This last comment appears to be a swipe aimed at members of the media, some of whom Kerr accused in a BBC interview after Saturday's game of hoping that his side had lost. The manager last night cancelled a pitch-side briefing for the press which had been scheduled for after this morning's training session at their north Dublin base.

The Swiss will arrive in Dublin this morning in the hope of extending what is now a 12-match unbeaten run in the wake of Saturday night's 1-1 draw with France in Berne. Another draw would leave them sure of at least a place in the play-offs.

The results over the weekend, however, leave three of the group's leading four teams still in contention to qualify automatically as the top side with only current leaders Israel, who ended their programme of games on Saturday with a win over the Faroe Islands, incapable of finishing first.

The Irish cannot make even the play-offs without winning on Wednesday but things are extremely tight between the Swiss and French who are currently separated only by goal difference. In the event that both sides win, Raymond Domenech's men need to beat Cyprus by four more than their rivals' margin of victory in Dublin in order to book their place in Germany.

On a night, meanwhile, when the Irish kept alive their hopes of qualification for the finals in Germany next summer, six European countries made certain of their places at the tournament with Croatia, England, Italy, Poland, Portugal and the Netherlands all ensuring that they will either top their respective groups or finish as one of the two best runners up.

If the Republic do make the play-offs they will have to play in a neutral venue because of the unavailability of Lansdowne Road. The FAI's preference is believed to be Celtic Park with Anfield, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and Manchester City's Eastlands Stadium (in that order) also under consideration. If Ireland do qualify for the play-offs a final decision won't be made on a "home" until after Friday's draw.

The Play-offs: Likely teams and venues

* The World Cup play-off games, involving six of the eight runners-up in the European qualification groups, will be played on Saturday the 12th and Wednesday the 16th of November.

* The draw for the games will be made at 11.0 this Friday morning in Zurich.

* The draw will be seeded according to the various countries' places in the FIFA World-ranking list.

* Ireland are ranked 21st on the list and rated 14th of the European nations. Six of those above the Republic have already qualified while several more are competing against each other for places in the play-offs.

* Ireland's recent slip from the high teens in the ranking list, however, will almost certainly end up costing the team a seeding in the event that they qualify for the play-offs.

* A great deal depends on Wednesday's results but with one round of matches remaining some of the nations more likely to be in the hat containing the seeds (and Ireland's prospective opponents) on Friday are the Czech Republic, Spain and Turkey although Sweden and Denmark or European champions Greece could also find themselves facing Ireland for a place in the finals.

* In the event that Ireland qualify for the play-offs, Lansdowne Road will be unavailable for the home match. The FAI's preferred venue for the home game is Celtic Park, with Anfield, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and Manchester City's Eastlands Stadium (in that order) also under consideration.