Ireland regroup after Keane's dramatic U-turn still leaves Irish spirit damaged

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James Lawton: Keane: the ultimate professional who eventually cracked

The Republic of Ireland captain Roy Keane was back in training yesterday after sleeping on his dramatic decision to walk out of the World Cup, and having a change of heart.

He almost left it too late. The Football Association of Ireland had sent their official squad list to the world governing body Fifa with Colin Healy of Celtic listed in Keane's place and the revised version, with Keane reinstated, only just beat the deadline of Tuesday midnight.

Although the Irish camp tried to play down an altercation between the Manchester United midfielder and the Republic's goalkeeping coach Packie Bonner in training, it was clearly the catalyst for Keane's extraordinary behaviour. He has complained in the past about a lack of professionalism by the FAI in matters such as training facilities, but has left himself open to the same accusation.

In trying to explain himself, Keane said: "I get like that sometimes. It's over and done with now." Others were less matter-of-fact. The former Ireland manager John Giles wrote in his Dublin newspaper column, "My gut feeling is that there was a powerful case for Mick McCarthy to cut his losses and make up Keane's mind for him. I just can't imaging that any World Cup boss has ever had to fight through such a crisis so close to the big kick-off."

Only last week there was confusion over Keane's absence from Niall Quinn's charity testimonial match at Sunderland, which left McCarthy covering up for him. Two days later Keane played in a friendly against Nigeria in Dublin, apparently allaying any fears over his fitness, but McCarthy claimed yesterday that concerns over a knee injury were a factor in his captain's initial decision to fly home.

McCarthy said: "Roy has problems with his knee and it would be remiss of us not to be aware of that. I do not know what the personal reasons are that he mentioned when he told me he was quitting last night, but I do know that his knee is a worry for him.

"It has been like that for some time and we will have to see how he gets on in the next few days before we know if he will be fit for the Cameroon match on 1 June. What I do know is that we have a much better chance at the World Cup finals with Roy Keane here rather than at home.

"He surprised me when he told me he was quitting, but I am glad that he is now staying. Roy trained this morning and is absolutely fine. He has had a change of heart and I am delighted. He should be playing in the World Cup because he is one of the best players in the world.

"All the players came back from training today and all gathered around Roy – they are all together. This is just one of those things and it comes with the territory."

Yesterday it emerged, however, that Healy, who impressed while on loan at Coventry City and in three internationals this year, would not be travelling to the Far East as cover. In theory, he could still be brought into the squad if Keane broke down up until 24 hours before the opening game. The squad, currently on the Pacific island of Saipan, fly to their training base in Izumo, Japan on Friday.

Meanwhile Bonner was distancing himself from any involvement in creating the crisis yesterday, saying: "I am the innocent party here. All I did on Tuesday was stand my ground and defend my goalkeepers when Roy wanted to know why they had not taken part in the five-a-sides.

"They had just undertaken a very intensive 40 minute training session of their own in the heat here and there was no way they could play a game. They were too exhausted and I made that clear to Roy.

"It was no more than an animated discussion that has been blown out of all proportion," Bonner added. "I spoke my mind and Roy spoke his in the tone of voice that is common on training grounds the world over. Yes, it was heated, but that is part and parcel of the game and there would be something wrong if players were not hyped up this close to a World Cup finals. But to say we had a row is so wrong. I have had more heated arguments than that with my kids over their homework."

Blown out of proportion or not, the affair can hardly have improved morale among a squad that prides itself on togetherness and team-spirit. It must also have increased the likelihood of Keane, after 11 years representing his country, announcing his retirement from international football once the competition is over, rather than sticking around for a European Championship qualifying tournament that includes uninviting trips to Russia, Georgia and Albania.