Robbie Keane's knee injury is worse than feared, after the Ireland captain underwent knee surgery in America on Thursday.
Keane missed out on Ireland's two friendlies with Switzerland and Slovakia due to an undiagnosed knee injury. He was due to start one of the games, but manager Martin O'Neill announced after the Switzerland game, that Keane would not play in the second friendly as a safety measure.
Operation done speedy recovery hopefully back soon stronger #lagalaxy #irlelangðŸ€ðŸ€
A photo posted by Robbie Keane (@robbiekeane) on
In a statement released by Keane's club LA Galaxy, they hope to have their captain back in action in "4-6 weeks". May 1st seems the earliest date of return for Keane. LA Galaxy play away to Sporting Kansas City that weekend.
Despite Keane's lack of action for Ireland in recent games, the news of surgery will come as a worry to manager Martin O'Neill. Jonathan Walters went under the knife on Wednesday to repair some knee cartilage, but the Stoke City striker expects to be fit to take his seat on the plane to France.
Kevin Doyle also went under the knife last week. The Colorado Rapids striker suffered a horrific shin injury against Switzerland and missed the game against Slovakia. Daryl Murphy was absent from the squad for the game against Slovakia. The Ipswich striker suffered a calf injury against Switzerland.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.