Keano de retour plus tôt que prévu:
d) " Irish handed Keane boost"
by Alex Livie - Last Updated 5 Sep 2004
Roy Keane has handed Republic of Ireland a huge boost by confirming his availability for Wednesday´s World Cup qualifier with Switzerland.
The Manchester United powerhouse was expected to be sidelined for another ten days after fracturing ribs last month.
He missed the win over Cyprus on Saturday, but has informed coach Brian Kerr that he will be fit for the potentially pivotal encounter with the Swiss in Basel.
Confirming the news, Kerr said: " When Roy withdrew from the squad almost immediately on its announcement, we had discussions with him and Manchester United about the possibility that he could return from his rib injury in time for the second match of our programme.
" It was agreed to keep the matter under review but make no public comment. Earlier this week, Roy began light training with his club and has made considerable progress and will report to the Irish squad in preparation for the match in Basel.
" Roy Keane will therefore travel to Dublin this evening and we expect him to be available for selection on Wednesday.
" I would like to thank Manchester United and manager Sir Alex Ferguson for their cooperation on the matter."
The Irish are in a tough qualifying group containing France, Israel, Cyprus and Faroe Islands, and a win in Switzerland would be a major fillip.