The returning centre half will only know his collarbone is right is if he gets hit on it and survives to tell the tale, writes EMMET MALONE, Soccer Correspondent

HIS BROKEN collarbone prompted a lot of “Dunney’s Euro dreams are dented” type headlines back in February when the Republic of Ireland defender came off second best in a collision with Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Harte. There was speculation too about what must have gone through the 32-year-old’s head as he hit the ground, given he had sat out all of Ireland’s games at his only previous major championship outing, the 2002 World Cup.

Despair at the thought of what might be his last chance to play on such a big stage being so cruelly stolen away from him was, of course, the consensus, but when the Dubliner was asked about it during a trip home yesterday to promote a new mobile phone supporters’ pack to be marketed by FAI sponsors 3, the truth turned out to be rather more mundane.

“No, I wouldn’t say that,” he observed. “I was just going: ‘This is sore.’ ”

Dunne is, in any case, on the verge of returning to action for Aston Villa now and so, barring another mishap, will not only be in Giovanni Trapattoni’s squad for Poland but also, it seems certain, in the Ireland team for the opening game against Croatia.

The shoulder, which is now held together with a metal plate, feels fine, he insists, although having been advised to avoid physical contact in training over the last few days, he will not, he says, be entirely happy about things being right until he gets properly clattered for the first time and comes through it.

“I need someone to run up behind me and smack me on it,” he says, unintentionally prompting laughter amongst his audience. “I know it’s going to be sore, but it’s not going to break because I’ve got the plate in it. It’s just getting that initial knock (out of the way). You don’t want to do it (but) you’re probably better off running into a wall and seeing if you’re alright at the end of it.”

The former Everton and Manchester City star is likely to get his fair share of knocks in Poland, where Giovanni Trapattoni will hope he can produce more heroics of the sort that kept Ireland on level terms against Russia in Moscow last September.

The Spain game stands out as one where the Irish are likely to be hanging on and Dunne agrees Chelsea’s performance over two legs against Barcelona is the sort of thing he and his team-mates might have to aspire to.

“It’s very hard,” he says, “some people are saying that that (Chelsea’s dig in deep and hit them on the break approach) should be the game-plan, but I don’t really know if it is a game-plan or just a necessity because they have so much possession you just have to.

“We know Chelsea over the two games have been outstanding, their defending and concentration and stuff like that, and we know that that’s the sort of thing that we’re going to have to do. When we have the ball we’re not going to have it for very long, so we’ve got to make the most of. The way Chelsea closed them down and stifled them and forced them to shoot from long distance rather than letting them get behind them is certainly something that can help us, hopefully.”

Barcelona’s defeat, he fears however, might just mean that the club’s Spanish internationals head to the European Championship even more motivated than would otherwise have been the case.

Either way, he says, it will be a really tough game, but only one of three.

Before then, there is urgent business at Villa to be attended to with the club in danger of being sucked back into the relegation zone over the last couple of weeks of the campaign in part, he feels, because of the absence of so many experienced players through injury.

“We don’t want to be down there,” he says. “The way the season has panned out has been tough. We’ve not got the biggest squad and with injuries and the illness to Stan (Stiliyan Petrov), it’s just been one of those seasons.

“Hopefully in three weeks’ time we are still a Premier League team, we can put it aside and move on for next year.”

At that stage, the centre half may feel he has a point to prove to the Villa fans, while the club’s manager might prefer to have his undivided attention. He will, he says, weigh up his international future after the Euros and in consultation with Trapattoni.

For the moment, he is just glad to be back but not half as glad, one suspects, as the Italian is to have him.