Mick McCarthy's plans for next month's World Cup play-offs suffered another blow yesterday at Molineux when Mark Kennedy limped out of his side's 3-0 defeat of Burnley after just 32 minutes of the first half.
Kennedy was reported afterwards to have pulled a hamstring and if the diagnosis proves correct then the 25-year-old Dubliner is almost certain to miss both legs of the forthcoming two-match tie against either Iran or the United Arab Emirates.
The injury comes as another blow to the Wolves winger who missed Ireland's decisive victory over the Netherlands at the start of September after picking up a groin strain while playing for his club.
It may represent a far more serious blow for McCarthy this time, however, with the Republic boss looking increasingly short of wide midfield options as Kevin Kilbane and Damien Duff struggle to prove their fitness in time to be considered for the Dublin game on November 10th.
Duff is almost certain to miss Blackburn's game against Leicester this evening due to a recurrence of a hamstring injury he originally picked up against Everton a month ago but the hope is that he will return next Saturday when Rovers are scheduled to take on Southampton.
If he does and Kilbane is kept out with the ankle problem he suffered recently against Manchester United, then McCarthy is likely to play Duff in his preferred left-wing position while starting with Niall Quinn and Robbie Keane up front. If not, then Steven Reid may end up starting against the Asian play-off winners.
Even more alarming for McCarthy, meanwhile, will have been the remarks of Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford on Saturday regarding Roy Keane's chances of figuring in Ireland's forthcoming games.
The United manager said that the Ireland skipper needs at least two or three weeks' rest, and possibly twice that, in order to shake off a knee injury that has been troubling him for some weeks now.
"At the moment I don't think he'll be fit," said Ferguson after the 1-1 draw with Leeds United, "but even if he misses our match next week at Liverpool, I'd be prepared to let him go over to Dublin if he has a chance of playing because it's such an important game for Ireland".
It is still not entirely clear how serious Keane's problem is, with Ferguson describing it as "minor", but something that is causing the Corkman pain and which "needs to be nipped in the bud". United intend to continue resting him in the hope of sorting the problem out.
The casualty list:
Roy Keane
Knee injury
Possibly out for 2-6 weeks. Hasn't played since Oct 17th.
Damien Duff
Hamstring
May be back next week. Hasn't played since Sep 22nd
Kevin Kilbane
Ankle injury
Could return in time.
Out since Oct 13th.
Mark Kennedy
Hamstring
Injured yesterday. Will probably miss both legs
