Richard Dunne has withdrawn from the Republic of Ireland squad to face France on Saturday after failing to recover from the calf muscle injury suffered last weekend.
The Manchester City defender sat out training again yesterday morning after a scan at the Cappagh Hospital on Tuesday revealed muscle damage.
The Irish medical team decided late last night that the player would benefit most by returning to his club for intensive treatment on the injury but remain hopeful he will be able to rejoin the squad ahead of the qualifier with the Faroe Islands.
"Richard has been receiving treatment from our medical staff since his arrival here," manager Brian Kerr explained. "However following a review. . .our medical team felt it would be more beneficial if he was to return to Manchester City for intensive treatment rather than lose out on a day's treatment by travelling to France,"
"Richard will therefore return to Manchester [this] morning but if he recovers sufficiently over the next few days then he will rejoin the squad in Dublin on Sunday."
Were he not to feature against the Faroes at Lansdowne Road next Wednesday it would be a cruel blow for the Dubliner as he has just forced his way back into Kerr's plans after a lengthy absence from the side.
Dunne's last appearance in the green jersey came in the 3-0 friendly win over Canada last November. A struggle with injury has kept him out of a number of squads since, although Kerr has, at times, also overlooked him when fit. But the manager is glad to have the 25-year-old back in his plans for the upcoming days.
Roy Keane, Damien Duff, John O'Shea and Gary Breen all sat out training on Tuesday but were put through their paces yesterday morning in Malahide while goalkeeper Shay Given, who has yet to join the squad because of family commitments, is due to meet up with the travelling party in Paris later today.
Meanwhile, France's problems compounded yesterday when Barcelona midfielder Ludovic Giuly was ruled out for two weeks because of a thigh strain.
The former Monaco player has returned to Barcelona for treatment. The 28-year-old sustained the injury in last weekend's league match against Numancia.
Ireland's chances of achieving a result in Paris have been boosted in recent days with injury ruling out a number of key French players, most notably Giuly and striker David Trezeguet, while Patrick Vieira's suspension - to which Kerr joked he wasn't going to write an appeal to UEFA on the Arsenal captain's behalf - and the retirement of five leading players bodes well for Kerr's cause.
But the manager was quick to highlight the strength in depth his French counterpart Raymond Domenech has at his disposal and warned that to go to the Stade de France "over confident" would be foolish in the extreme.
"France could still have seven of the team that played in the European finals. Barthez, Gallas, Silvestre, Dacourt, Henry, Wiltord and Pires and, well, they're not bad are they," he quipped. "Whoever they put in with them they'll be top class players."
"Every player they have is either playing consistently in the Champions League or has been a part of their World Cup and European success of recent years. When they can leave out players who would be automatic choices for many countries, it shows their depth."
Kerr said he was close to knowing his starting XI but admitted he still had "a couple of decisions" to make. Matt Holland, who has played just 15 minutes of first team football for Charlton since injuring an ankle on the opening day of the season, could be in line for a return come Saturday but Kerr is not convinced he will be fit to last a full game.
"He feels he's fit and is in good physical condition. Whether he lasts the full 90 minutes we'd have to see in the game if he plays."
The Republic of Ireland team depart for Paris at 11.20 a.m. and continue their preparations with a training session at a local ground this eveing. A Irish crowd in the region of 25,000 is expected to travel for the game.