Keane and McGeady doubts for Scotland

Robbie Keane and Aidan McGeady are doubts for Saturday's crunch Euro 2016 qualifier against Scotland in the Aviva Stadium, but Republic of Ireland boss Martin O'Neill has said he will give both players time before making a final decision on their involvement.

LA Galaxy striker Keane was replaced by John O'Shea at Ireland's pre-match press conference after the Ireland striker suffered bereavements when two of his cousins died following a sewer accident in Dublin in which it is believed they were overcome by toxic fumes. 

Stephen Harris was in a critical condition in hospital after the accident had already claimed the life of Keane's other cousin Alan Harris, but the 34 year old received news on Friday morning that Stephen had also passed away. Ireland boss O'Neill has expressed his condolences and has said he will leave the decision of Keane's involvement against the Scots entirely up to the LA Galaxy striker.

“Robbie's had a bit of bad news this morning as well, so he's actually not great at this minute,” O'Neill told media at the Raddison Hotel by Dublin airport. “He's with his family and he's quite down at the moment, so I'm hoping that he'll come around and if he wants to participate in the game tomorrow or not, that'll be entirely his decision.”

“I don't think you could ever question his professionalism,” added O'Neill when asked about the striker's dedication being epitomized by the striker training yesterday despite his awareness of the situation. “It's how he's feeling within himself, really, as much as anything else. But as I said, bad news this morning and he's not great.”

John O'Shea went on to express his sympathies, adding: “There's obviously good morale around him. We'll look after Robbie, and if he needs whatever support, we'll be there for him. He's certainly a very good professional, but absolutely playing football has to take a backstep when something like that happens.”
 

Meanwhile, McGeady didn't train in Ireland's last session before the Scotland tie due to an ongoing hamstring injury. The potential absence of the winger would be a blow to O'Neill's plans, particularly after he put in a promising performance during Sunday's 0-0 friendly draw with England – but the Ireland manager has said it was just a precaution to allow the Everton man to sit out training.

“He's a bit sore, a few things that he's doing, he felt not so bad on Sunday,” said O'Neill. “A bit sore, but we'll see, we'll see how he is. He sat out today as a precaution as much as anything else.”

McGeady has already played through the pain-barrier once in this campaign when he took a pain-killing injection to help him get through the 1-1 draw with Poland in March and when asked if that was an option again for Saturday, O'Neill said that was for the 29 year old to decide.

“Taking a gamble would really very much be with Aidan, if that's the case,” said O'Neill. “If he feels that he is ready to go and start the game that is something we will look at obviously. If he feels he can participate in some of the match, again because he's been a very important player for us in this qualifying campaign, I'll give him as much time as he needs.
 

“There's no point going into incredible detail with it, but he's feeling sore at the moment. Again, he felt alright on Sunday in the match but I think it's an ongoing problem he's had for some considerable time.

“He's been terrific for us in the competition," O'Neill continued. "Perhaps in the last game against Poland I don't think he was very fit and I think that perhaps showed a little bit. But overall he's a fine player – at his very best his is capable of unlocking any defence, I think, and he's an important player for us.

“We'll give both of them a little bit of time and we'll see how they are later on today.”

McGeady has had a positive influence on this campaign already, the standout being his two-goal performance against Georgia in Tbilisi to give Ireland a 2-1 win on day one of Euro 2016 qualifying. When asked if O'Neill felt there was a player with a similar individual talent in the squad, O'Neill name-checked Norwich City man Wes Hoolahan.

“I think that Hoolahan is a very, very talented player, I think he's been great for us as well,” said O'Neill. “He did miss out on a couple of matches, but here at home when the onus was on us to try and find an answer, maybe a piece of individualism, I think Wes Hoolahan has not only not let us down, he's come to the fore and I think that he's an important player for us, and I'm glad to have him.”