Irish may have lost Harte

As another opportunity to prove his fitness slipped past at Baldonnel yesterday, Ian Harte's participation in tomorrow's World Cup qualifier at Lansdowne Road is looking increasingly unlikely.

The Leeds defender looked a forlorn character as he watched yesterday morning's training game by himself from the dug out, with the left back able to do no more than a little light jogging just over 48 hours ahead of kick-off.

After the session Mick McCarthy said he remained unsure whether he would be able to call on the defender, who turns 24 today. "He's still got a sore ankle," said the Ireland manager, "but he's in better shape than on Saturday. Apart from that we still don't know, really. We'll just have to wait and see but we won't risk him if he's not right."

Harte's recovery from a gash picked up in a clash with Paolo di Canio on Saturday is not helped by the fact he was already suffering from bad bruising to the shin above the same ankle, sustained in the opening game of the Premiership season against Southampton. That injury was aggravated during the Arsenal game early last week and he was apparently about to be substituted on Saturday before the collision with di Canio.

The Dutch have their own injury worries. After their training session in the Carlisle Grounds last night doubts were cast over the fitness of Ruud van Nistelrooy, who watched from the sideline as his team-mates went through their paces.

Dutch manager Louis van Gaal said afterwards the 25-year-old, who had started the session before being forced to drop out, was suffering from "a minor muscle strain" and would be fit to start tomorrow's game.

Dean Kiely was the only other player apart from Harte to sit out yesterday's Irish training session but McCarthy insisted the Charlton goalkeeper would be fine by tomorrow when he will be competing with Alan Kelly for a place on the Republic bench.

Virtually certain to start the game is Shay Given, who insists he is happy with his form just now despite the much-publicised opening-day blunder against Chelsea.

Since that game and his somewhat disappointing performance in the InterToto Cup final against Troyes, both Bobby Robson and McCarthy have come out in support of the 25-year-old former Celtic and Blackburn Rovers player. And so a year on from the night in Amsterdam when he couldn't even force his way on to the Irish bench he is set to win his 33rd cap.

"I was very disappointed at the time," he says now of a night when he looked inconsolable. Obviously, it was very frustrating, but things change in football and I'm happy with the way things are going for me at the moment, even if the competition is still tough with Alan playing again and Dean looking very sharp at the momen."

Another one of McCarthy's panel who believes he is in good shape, meanwhile, is Sunderland striker Niall Quinn, whose fitness ahead of tomorrow's game presents McCarthy with a dilemma after the strong first showing by the striking partnership of Damien Duff and Robbie Keane against the Croatians.

Quinn's dedication to the Irish cause has always been beyond question but these days the 35- year-old spends much of his time wearing a brace to protect his back and has to receive attention from his club's physiotherapists before and after every training session as he mounts a determined fight to extend his top-flight career.

During yesterday's training match the fact the big striker wore a different training top to the rest of his team-mates was the only hint that the brace was on but as he threw himself into a lively game there was little doubt he would be fit to face the Dutch.

"It's all been a bit of struggle," said the Dubliner, "but I feel good now and like everybody else in the squad I'm looking forward to doing what I can if I'm required on the day. The summer worked out well for me, and Peter Reid let me ease myself back into it over the first week or two and then I got a couple of good pre-season games in. Mainly it was just 45 minutes here and there," he added, "and for the first weekend of the season I wasn't quite ready so Peter opted for Lillian (Laslandes) but by the third game I got myself in and I'm pretty happy now."

Quinn is far from certain he will start tomorrow's game. "Mick was delighted with the way the two lads did in the Croatia game, but if he does go with them for this match I'll be ready to come in if and when he asks me to."

Having scored the equaliser against the Dutch 11 years ago in Italy, the Irishman already has more fond memories than most of the Republic's tangles with one of the world's great sides but like everybody else in the squad he is desperate to earn another outing on the game's biggest stage.

"It would be brilliant to beat them this time," he says. "All the time I'm asked about turning the clock back to Italy but I want to look to the future. Obviously, it's a huge game for us but the difference is that usually these sort of matches have been away, or in the case of the last play-off against the Dutch, at a neutral ground.

"This is another game where we know we desperately need to get a result but the fact it's at Lansdowne Road makes a huge difference because the fans have a huge role to play. I think that's part of the reason we're all looking forward to it so much."