Jason McAteer's difficult season continues after he sustained a collarbone injury in Liverpool's Premiership game at Southampton last Saturday. It kept him out of Liverpool's 30 win over Aston Villa on Monday night and now Mick McCarthy is uncertain if the player will be available for the Republic of Ireland's World Cup meeting with Romania at Lansdowne Road on Saturday, October 11th.
As yet, he has not had an opportunity to speak to McAteer and until such time as he does, it is unclear if the Liverpool player will be included when the preliminary squad is announced next Wednesday.
"At this point, I've no idea when Jason will be ready to play again - and that's a worry when you consider that we have some very important games coming up in the next couple of months," he said.
It fits the pattern of a troubled period in McAteer's career. A three-match FIFA ban, imposed for his dismissal in the World Cup game in Macedonia at the beginning of April, appeared to strip him of some of his old confidence and it showed on his return to the team earlier this month.
He only got into the side for the 4-2 win in Iceland as a second-half replacement for Blackburn's Jeff Kenna, and then, having won back his place in the starting line-up for the subsequent meeting with Lithuania, he was substituted in the closing stages of the game.
McAteer needed a good run with Liverpool to enhance his chances of a place in the team to take on Romania, but that must now be in some doubt.
With Keith O'Neill's continuing absence from the national team, it is a problem which McCarthy could have done without, but he will, at least, be reassured by the latest fitness report from Ray Houghton.
After being forced out of the Icelandic and Lithuanian assignments because of a recurrence of a groin problem, Houghton made a timely return to Reading's team against Tranmere at the weekend.
Sporting bodies are to come together in Limerick to stage a testimonial game for former Republic of Ireland soccer manager, Eoin Hand. Hand gave five years to Limerick United and brought them to league honours and FAI club glory.
The man behind the idea, former Limerick director Michael Crowe, has already booked the Market Fields for a game in October on a date yet to be decided. "Eoin was held in high regard by the rugby, GAA and soccer fraternities in Limerick and it is my desire to get them all to come together to help in the promotion of the testimonial," he said.
Andy Goram's career with Rangers and Scotland is in the balance after the goalkeeper went AWOL from Ibrox."Andy Goram is not here today and we haven't seen him since last Thursday," was Rangers manager Walter Smith's curt reply to inquiries yesterday.The goalkeeper has been at the centre of adverse publicity recently.
