The Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy explained the absence of Roy Keane from the testimonial of Niall Quinn at Sunderland's Stadium of Light.
The Irish national team skipper was absent from the game for the big striker and McCarthy was quick to point out that although Keane was having treatment from his club, Manchester United, on a hamstring, the treatment was "preventative".
The Ireland skipper is now expected to join the rest of the squad for Thursday's friendly against Nigeria at Lansdowne Road.
"It suits me fine if Roy is getting treatment from his club before he is released," stated McCarthy.
"Roy is not injured but he has been having ongoing treatment to help any problems he has had. It's a preventative procedure which he has been having for a long time.
"I didn't think it was appropriate of me to say anything ahead of this game given it was a testimonial for Quinny. I didn't say anything because I knew what would happen with the hype that surrounds Roy.
"People would have been chasing around to see if he had done something to his cruciate or whether he had broken his back, his neck or his skull, but the reality is I expect him to be fit for Thursday.
"The important thing for me is that I don't want to get wrapped up in incidentals about him. If he turns up tomorrow and he plays against Cameroon on the 1st of June then I am not bothered.
"But from what I know, the treatment he is having is not to treat a specific injury as such, like a knee or an ankle or anything like that."
On the night, the 36,000 fans turned out to pay tribute to Sunderland star Quinn who has been a Republic of Ireland international since 1986 – back when McCarthy was still playing.
Quinn played 23 minutes in a Sunderland shirt in the first half and 13 minutes for the Republic during the second. Goals from Mark Kennedy, David Connolly and Sunderland winger Kevin Kilbane gave the Republic a resounding 3-0 victory.
The player said: "It was even bigger and better than I imagined it would be. This was the biggest night of my life, with the biggest thing for me being the expression I saw on the faces of so many people.
"It made me realise there are so many decent people out there and it was wonderful to get correspondence from people all over the world. Just before the game I got a fax from [Prime Minister] Tony Blair wishing me well, [ his Irish counterpart] Bertie Ahern has been in touch. It shows I have been involved in something special."
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