Robbie Keane to miss Republic’s games with England and Georgia

The FAI has confirmed Robbie Keane will play no part in the opening two friendlies of Ireland's end of season series of games with LA Galaxy declining to make the striker available due to their MLS commitments.

Keane's club are struggling after three defeats in four games and lie fourth in the league's western conference, seven points behind leaders Dallas, well below what would be expected of the champions 11 games into the campaign.

Unlikely
Regardless of their form, however, the club always looked unlikely to release such a key player for games being played outside of the official Fifa international window.

The games against the Faroe Islands, a qualifying match, and Spain are around official dates and Keane is expected to be involved in both.

Despite losing another of his attacking players for the England and Georgia games some 24 hours after it was confirmed Anthony Pilkington had again withdrawn from the squad, Giovanni Trapattoni is not expected to draft in any further players.

The withdrawals mean, however, he is unlikely to have to actually cut any of the original 28 players either.

West Ham striker Andy Carroll has withdrawn from the England squad to face Ireland due to a heel injury.

Richard Dunne, meanwhile, will be looking for a new club, with Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert having decided against offering the 33-year-old a new contract.

The Dubliner’s future now looks uncertain. If fit, he could probably hope to continue to play at a high level, although he will represent a risk to any manager signing him and will have to take a big cut on the reported €60,000 a week he has been earning at Villa Park.

Shay Given and Stephen Ireland are also believed to be targets for Lambert as he tries to offload Villa's bigger earners.

Noel Hunt, meanwhile, has confirmed that he is leaving relegated Reading.