At the end of a week which saw Middlesborough's Curtis Fleming ruled out for the rest of the season following a knee operation, Blackburn's Jeff Kenna sidelined for at least a month after tearing a calf muscle and Niall Quinn (right) limping out early in Sunderland's match with Oxford, there was at least some good news on the "injured Irish" front over the weekend.

David Kelly, just recovered from a knee operation, made his first team return for Tranmere, coming on in the 80th minute: he hadn't played since late December. And Liam George, scorer of the winning penalty in the shoot-out against Germany in last summer's Under-18 European Championships, was back in the Luton side on Saturday, six months after breaking his leg and suffering ligament damage.

Also returning to first team action after a nasty injury was Brighton's Darragh Ryan, son of former Irish international Gerry. Ryan broke his leg in two places, playing against Peterborough in December 1997, but finally completed his comeback on Saturday when he was brought on for the last 15 minutes of Brighton's 2-1 home defeat by Orient.

It was a good day, too, for 19-year-old Dubliner James O'Connor, who made his first start for Stoke City, two months after making his debut for the club as a sub in the Auto Windscreens Shield. Not that the young midfielder's presence did anything to change his side's luck - their 3-1 home defeat by Wrexham was their eighth in their last 10 matches (and their consolation goal their first in 400 minutes).

In the goals: Roy Keane (Manchester United v Southampton), Liam O'Brien (Tranmere v Bury), Alan McLoughlin (penalty for Portsmouth v Port Vale) and Richard Sadlier (late winner for Millwall, against Northampton).