Soccer:Richard Dunne looks likely to miss the Republic of Ireland's opening World Cup qualifier away to Kazakhstan after Aston Villa confirmed the centre back will be sidelined for between six and eight weeks with a groin injury.
Dunne, who turns 33 next month, was already left out of the friendly international with Serbia in Belgrade on August 15th with a number of other senior players.
The Tallaght man has also talked recently of considering his future at international level and has asked the advice of new Villa manager Paul Lambert on the matter.
A six-week lay-off would see Dunne return in the week of Ireland’s game against Kazakhstan, although a 15,000 kilometres round-trip to Almaty is unlikely to appeal to Lambert at the start of the Premier League season.
If Dunne is ruled out for the full eight weeks, he could possibly face a battle for match fitness before the key Group C clash against Germany at the Aviva Stadium on October 12th.
