Gary Kelly's rehabilitation from a serious leg injury was accelerated yesterday with his inclusion in a preliminary squad of 31 for the Republic of Ireland's three-match European championship programme next month.
It is the first time in almost 15 months that Kelly's name has figured in an Ireland team announcement, and it marks a significant stage in the attempt to reclaim his rating as one of the better Irish players of his generation. Ironically, he captained the national team for the first time in the last of his 26 appearances against Mexico at the end of the 1997/98 season. That game ended in a drab, scoreless draw, but the bigger disappointment by far was the leg injury he sustained when playing for Leeds in a pre-season game against Liverpool at Lansdowne Road two months later and which would keep him on the sidelines for all of the season which followed. Now, after two operations and a painstaking programme designed to strengthen his leg, he is back to his best form and, according to Leeds manager David O'Leary, going to get even better.
"Gary's looking good again and ready to compete with anybody for a place in the first X1," says O'Leary. That's an upbeat assessment which gladdens Irish manager Mick McCarthy. "When you've been to the bottom of the pile as he has, it's great to see lads back and playing well again. "He's a quality player with much to offer any team, and while I've said repeatedly there are no guarantees on offer for anybody, he gives us an additional option which I welcome."
Given the recurring doubts about the fitness of Jason McAteer, Kelly's inclusion may prove particularly opportune. Like Shay Given, McCarthy's other priority patient, McAteer has been given additional time to regain match fitness, but the expectation is that both their names will be deleted when the squad is reduced at the end of the month. The doubts born of Given's continuing problems are reflected in McCarthy's decision to name no fewer than five goalkeepers in his enlarged squad. They include the Kelly brothers, Alan and Gary, and Keith Branagan, the Bolton player who appeared to drift out of favour last season following the arrival on the scene of Dean Kiely.
Roy and Robbie Keane are, of course, automatic choices for the first of the three European games against Yugoslavia on September 1st, but whether they will still be with their current clubs, Manchester United and Wolves, at that time is a matter of debate. Roy Keane, locked in apparently bitter contractual talks with United, is expected to make a statement on his future next week, but speaking at the launch of his autobiography in Manchester yesterday, Alex Ferguson said he was still confident the player would stay at the club. "I'm confident that when he weighs it all up, Roy will still be with us," he said. "He's an honest lad who will make an honest decision and I'll respect him for it."
Robbie Keane's future at Wolves now looks a little more settled than it was in the summer when his name was being linked with a number of clubs, but given Wolves' determination to find additional funding for at least one big name signing, the Dubliner's situation has not yet been fully clarified. Meanwhile, he looks certain to keep his place as Niall Quinn's front line partner against Yugoslavia, with Keith O'Neill, David Connolly and record-breaker Tony Cascarino providing the back-up.
Apart from Kiely, the uncapped players in the squad are Matt Holland of Ipswich Town and Bradford's Gareth Whalley, now one of the relatively few Irish players involved in the Premiership. Holland, who impresses McCarthy as a strong, industrious midfielder, gets into the senior squad for the first time after doing well at under-21 level. Graham Kavanagh of Stoke City gets a chance to build on the promise of his display as a substitute against Sweden.
