Keane's injury a huge blow

Soccer: Roy Keane's 66th appearance for his country against France earlier this month may have been his last. The 34-year-old midfielder broke a bone in his foot during Manchester United's goalless draw with Liverpool at Anfield yesterday.

The Corkman was injured four minutes from time when he was fouled by Luis Garcia, who caught Keane as he followed through on a challenge.

The Irishman played on for another couple of minutes before being replaced by Ryan Giggs.

It was subsequently reported that he had broken the third metatarsal in his left foot, an injury that would normally involve a two-month lay-off.

The injury will keep him out of Ireland's final qualifying game against Switzerland on October 12th. Keane is already suspended for the game in Cyprus four days earlier.

Given that his return to international football was widely expected to extend only as far as Ireland's interest in the current World Cup, that could well mean the 1-0 defeat by France ends up being his last appearance for the Republic.

Ireland could still qualify for the finals either as group winners or through the play-offs in the event that they secure a second-place finish in Group Four, but they need to take six points from their last two games, a prospect that would be a good deal less likely if Keane misses both of the team's remaining games.

Ironically, his start for United yesterday forced many papers into hasty about-turns regarding his fitness, as several had suggested only last week that he would miss the next month-and-a-half with a hamstring injury. Instead, Keane was at the heart of things for much of the game and looked to be coping well prior to the challenge.

It now looks that his international career, which started in May 1991 in a friendly match against Chile, might well be ended by a failure on the part of Brian Kerr's side to qualify for next summer's World Cup finals in Germany.

At 34, the midfielder seems unlikely to return for another campaign, although in the absence of a strong successor the Ireland manager may well ask that he do just that.

If the Irish do fail to secure a top-two finish, however, it is far from clear who that manager will be. Kerr's contract runs out at the end of the campaign, and with the FAI apparently keeping their options open, his future is widely believed to depend on qualification.

Kerr did receive some positive news yesterday when Everton midfielder Lee Carsley was said to have made himself available for the last two internationals against Cyprus and Switzerland.

The injury to Keane, meanwhile, also represents a severe blow to Manchester United, who only last week lost Gabriel Heinze, possibly for the season, after the left back damaged cruciate ligaments in the Champions League game against Villarreal. After yesterday's draw United trail Chelsea by seven points, although Alex Ferguson's side does have a game in hand.