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Roy Keane reassures Harry Arter that injury won’t end his Euro 2016 hopes

Published 13:54 22 Mar 2016 GMT

Updated 19:03 22 Mar 2016 GMT

Roy Keane reassures Harry Arter that injury won’t end his Euro 2016 hopes

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The unlucky Bournemouth midfielder was looking forward to his chance to impress.

Roy Keane has this afternoon confirmed that injured Harry Arter has left the Republic of Ireland squad to return to his club for medical treatment, but insisted that missing out on the coming friendlies against Switzerland and Slovakia would not mean the end of his Euro 2016 hopes. The 26-year-old was expected to add to his sole international cap this week but suffered an Achilles injury during Bournemouth's defeat by Tottenham at the weekend which has taken away his big chance to force his way into Martin O'Neill's 23-man finals squad. But assistant boss Keane maintains that despite not playing in any of the qualifying matches en route to this summer's finals in France, Arter's good form in his club's almost certain Premier League survival means he remains in the thoughts of the management team and would get another chance in May's fixture against Holland.

Speaking to the media at Abbotstown, Keane said: “Harry has obviously gone back. You obviously wouldn’t take a chance with any player and, to be fair, he came over yesterday after he was struggling against Tottenham and like with any friendly game, you wouldn’t take risks.

“It’s unfortunate because I’m sure he’s desperate to get one or two games under his belt but he’s playing most weeks for Bournemouth. It’s disappointing but it’s part of the game but hopefully he’ll have a chance to get involved for the Dutch game.

“It’s not the end of the world and there won’t be any doors shut on him because he has the benefit of playing most weeks, and more importantly we’re hoping it’s not a serious injury.” A number of players involved in Sunday's Premier League games sat out training this morning, including Shane Long and John O'Shea, while Robbie Brady is dealing with a slight knock but should be available for Friday's game. However, Jeff Hendrick could also be returning to Derby as he is struggling with a shoulder injury.

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