Richard Keogh appeared to be odds-on to be in the Ireland squad if Mick McCarthy's side were to qualify for Euro 2020.
But that is now in jeopardy. The 33-year-old's club season is over after suffering a knee injury. But a hard-hitting Derby County statement confirmed the circumstances in which that occurred.
The Rams confirmed that "alcohol-related incident" led to the Ireland defender sustaining a "serious" knee injury.
"The players were out as part of a scheduled team-building dinner with staff and while the majority of them acted responsibly and left at around 8pm and were not involved, a small group, including the team captain Richard Keogh, continued drinking into the night," the statement read.
"They should have known when to stop and also ignored the opportunity to be driven home using cars laid on by the club, and chose to stay out.
"As a result of an alcohol-related incident, Richard Keogh has sustained a serious knee injury that will prevent him from playing until the end of the season."
You can read the remainder here.
Huge Ramifications
Kevin Kilbane discussed the matter on the Football Show.
"The ramifications are huge for him, personally, in every way," he said of Keogh.
"This is the sort of thing that could cost him his career, we don't know. We don't know how it's going to go for him, if and when he gets back fit from this.
"It's a terrible story. Far too often over the years, the relationship between professional football and alcohol hasn't ended well. There have been too many stories that have emerged."
He added, "You cannot condone what's happened".
Coupled with an injury to Shane Duffy, Ireland's defensive options have narrowed suddenly ahead of next month's Euro 2020 qualifiers.
He believes it puts more of an emphasis on Glenn Whelan as the sitting midfielder in the Switzerland and Georgia games.
"They're going to have to do a disciplined job in both those games," he said of the defensive unit.
"So there is going to be more of an emphasis on him now."
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