Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson is open-minded on whether Roy Keane will return to the Republic of Ireland side following the departure of manager Mick McCarthy.

Ferguson said: "I don't know whether he will go back and play for them. I have not even spoken to him about it and it is not really a subject I would want to discuss with him to be honest.

"For Roy's sake, the least he says about it the better because it is going to be another agenda for everyone in Ireland. They will be agog with stories about who is taking over and Keane coming back. At the moment he is not even back for us and that is the first step."

Of Keane's recovery from a hip operation, Ferguson said: "He is coming along but his test will come when we put him on the football field. Maybe in two or three weeks' time we will know better when he goes into football training and does twists and turns."