SOCCER: Early estimates from inside White Hart Lane yesterday suggested Robbie Keane will be out of action for between four and six weeks after sustaining ankle-ligament damage during Wednesday night's friendly against Rangers. But Ireland assistant manager Chris Hughton refused last night to write the striker out of September's opening World Cup qualifiers against Cyprus (home) and Switzerland (away).

Keane is certain to miss the Bulgaria game on August 18th, but asked if the 24-year-old could still feature in the international games, on September 4th and 8th, Hughton insisted it was too early to properly assess his chances.

"It's a very fresh injury," he said, "and people can say it's going to be this long or guess it's going to be that long but the truth of the matter at the moment is that nobody really knows. It depends how it develops, particularly over the next week.

"You tend to get a feel as to how people are going to progress in the first few days after an injury as the swelling goes down and they start to get some treatment. One factor that is going for us is that Robbie certainly isn't a player who likes to be laid up so we know he's going to be very anxious to get back playing as fast as he can."

Hughton conceded the loss of Keane would be a major blow to the team.

"You only have to look at his record, at the impact he has made in what is still really a very short space of time, to see how much he would be missed. But I think we have to be positive about this. There is still a chance that he will be back and we have to work towards that in whatever way we can."

While the injury is potentially a very significant blow for both Brian Kerr and Jacques Santini, it will also be frustrating for a player who suffered his share of injury problems last season and would have been keen to make an early impression on his new manager at Tottenham.

"It will be very frustrating to miss the pre-season games and the start of the season," said Keane yesterday. "You go through pre-season to get your fitness up and get ready for the start of the season then something like this happens.

"It sets you back a bit, but I will keep myself ticking over and strong," he added. "Hopefully I will be back in not too long a time. I am usually a quick healer. With luck, I will be back sooner than we expect."

Eyal Berkovic, meanwhile, has been informed by Israel manager Avraham Grant he will not feature during the forthcoming World Cup campaign. Grant has decided to dispense with a number of veterans ahead of September's opening qualifiers as Israel look to compete with France, Switzerland and Ireland for a place at Germany 2006

"The time has come for a changing of the guard and this team will combine veteran and young players," said Grant.

"There is no justification, however, for more than one or two veterans in the squad. Berkovic is a great player but his time is over."

Back in Israel the national team's former coach Shlomo Scharf reacted angrily.

"I'm shocked," he said. "I don't believe Grant has done such a thing. It is a sporting crime. These are terrible days for Israeli soccer. We don't stand a chance in the World Cup campaign."