Mick McCarthy is resigned to having to replace Steve Staunton for both legs of the Republic of Ireland's European Championship play-off against Turkey over the next 10 days. Staunton was quite the most serious casualty as the Ireland manager reflected on a weekend which, as he feared, left him with more problems than he cared to imagine.
Mark Kennedy is struggling after damaging a hamstring in Manchester City's 1-1 draw with QPR, while Denis Irwin will not join the squad until Wednesday at the earliest because of a knee problem.
Definitely gone, however, is Ipswich's Matt Holland, who was required as midfield cover for the two-leg tie. Holland went over on an ankle after his goal had enabled them to salvage a 2-2 draw at Blackburn where, ironically, his Ireland team-mate Lee Carsley scored both the home goals.
Inevitably, however, it is the loss of Staunton with a knee injury sustained in the last minute of Liverpool's 2-0 win over Derby Co which gives cause for most concern in the Ireland camp.
Undeniably there have been times this season when Staunton's performances did not measure up to expectation. Yet McCarthy's faith in the player was unshaken and was further bonded when he appointed him to captain the side when Roy Keane was absent.
The manager is scarcely short of options at full back, but given the heavy emphasis he has placed on experience in the closing phase of the qualifying programme the loss of the Liverpool player is a significant setback. At one point it looked as if he would have to replace both his first choice full backs, for when he met Alex Ferguson at the funeral of Joe Steele, the former Celtic masseur, in Glasgow on Friday the Manchester United manager told him that he didn't expect Irwin to be fit for the play-off.
The player has other ideas, however, and, while still under treatment for a knee injury sustained in the European Champions' League win over Sturm Graz last Tuesday, he believes he has a realistic chance of being available for the first of the Turkish assignments.
"I've spoken with Denis in the last couple of hours and he is upbeat about the situation," said McCarthy. "Alex Ferguson had warned me that I might lose him, and that of course remains a possibility. "But the player himself is optimistic and generally they are the ones who know best in these situations. I've told Denis to stay behind for treatment at the club, but hopefully he'll be able to come and join us on Wednesday."
If Irwin recovers, McCarthy could move him to left back and summon Tottenham's Steve Carr on the opposite flank. Alternatively, he can replace Staunton in a straight swap with Leeds' Ian Harte. Commenting on Kennedy's situation, McCarthy said: "The word initially from Joe Royle was that Mark was out of our squad, but now fortunately there's a little more hope. He'll have treatment at Manchester City over the next couple of days and then we'll re-assess the situation.
"Mark's never previously had this kind of injury, so we're a bit uncertain how serious it is. It may be that he'll he ready to play in both games, or perhaps only the second one. We'll just have to wait and see. Either way, I intend waiting for a day or so before deciding if I need to call up more players."
Kennedy is seen as a key personality in McCarthy's strategy. While the return fixture at Bursa a week on Wednesday may demand different priorities, the expectation is that the manager will put the emphasis on attack in the game at Lansdowne Road.
In that situation, he is almost certainly thinking of going with two specialist wingers, and inclining towards Kennedy rather than Gary Kelly for the job of running the right wing, with Kevin Kilbane deployed on the other flank.
