Norwich City centre back Andrew Omobamidele is a major doubt for the Republic of Ireland's World Cup qualifier against Portugal on Thursday after a kick on his Achilles in the Premier League win at Brentford.
Irish boss Stephen Kenny delivered the news at his pre-match press call ahead of the Dublin clash.
Omobamidele was excellent alongside Ben Gibson at Brentford in the absence of injured duo Grant Hanley and Christoph Zimmermann.
City return to action in 10 days at home to Southampton.
"Andrew Omobamidele has a fitness check as he got a kick on his Achilles in the Norwich game at the weekend," said his national boss. "It’s a bit sore so we’ll have to see how he is. We’ll have to wait and see. I can’t say I’m optimistic."
Omobamidele was looking forward to another test against Manchester United great Cristiano Ronaldo, after featuring in a late 2-1 defeat in the corresponding fixture in September.
"I don’t think there’s a set way to stop Ronaldo. You have to give him respect, he’s the best player in the world," he said, speaking earlier in the week. "But at the end of the day, it’s 11 v 11 on the pitch and we’re all human,’ he added.
"I think they have quality players all around the pitch but it (keeping him quiet) would definitely help massively."
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