Just when Robbie Keane thought things could not become any worse, the Tottenham captain is now facing the grim prospect of losing his first team place at White Hart Lane.
Keane, who skippered the Republic of Ireland team cruelly denied place at next summer's World Cup at the hands (actually, the left one) of Thierry Henry last Wednesday, was an unused substitute in Sunday's 9-1 blitz of Wigan.
In common with his Irish team mates Liam Lawrence at Stoke, Damien Duff at Fulham and Paul McShane at Hull, Keane was rested to help him recover from the emotional hangover.
But he now faces a colossal fight to regain his starting berth, with towering Peter Crouch and, in particular, Jermain Defoe in such devastating form.
Keane, 29, started the weekend as the north London club's leading marksman with six Premier League goals in 12 starts but, having watched Defoe eclipse his tally with five second half goals - a performance that has propelled the England striker to the top of the Premier League goalscorers' chart with 11 - he now faces a long spell on the sidelines.
Keane has been deemed untouchable since he re-signed for Tottenham for £12million from Liverpool in January. Fans admire his indefatigable spirit and manager Harry Redknapp appreciates both his attacking versatility and his leadership qualities in the dressing room.
But the manager is also a huge admirer of Crouch and a firm believer in little and large partnerships. With Defoe undoubtedly the form man at Tottenham, and perhaps even the country, and both players aware that England manager Fabio Capello is demanding form, games and goals from anyone aiming to be on the plane to South Africa next summer, Keane will find it difficult to break up their partnership.
One source of encouragement for the Irish captain is the approach of the Christmas and New Year games which, as always, come thick and fast. It is a period when Redknapp is likely to juggle with a squad that possesses genuine depth.
Until then, Keane can expect no favours from a manager who has already shown he is not afraid to ruffle the feathers of his expensively-assembled squad.
David Bentley has been forced to play second fiddle to Aaron Lennon while internationals Jermaine Jenas, Alan Hutton, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Giovani dos Santos and Gareth Bale have all suffered disheartening spells on the periphery of Redknapp's first team plans.
It would be doubly cruel for Keane if his despair over Henry's Paris goal does lead to an extended stay in the shadows of Defoe and Crouch.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
keane has been rubbish all year 2 goals from penalties, and he even missed one of them, then missed the rebound, then scored the nextvrebound. berbatov carried him and he was found out at lpool. he affects the way the team play. i was devastated when we bought him bsck
IMHO, Keane still has a lot to offer our club or another? However, i would like to see one of our young strikers begin to be bloodied in the PL, plus the fact we could make another killing on him by selling in the summer where the funds could be used to strengthen a couple of positions in the team.
COYS!