Republic of Ireland captain Robbie Keane has played down fears about a rib injury he picked up during the team's 1-0 friendly victory over Bosnia & Herzegovina, writes Glenn Mason.
Keane was treated for a number of minutes on the pitch after Bosnian defender Boris Pandza's knee caught him in the ribs.
The LA Galaxy striker, who picked up a minor hamstring injury earlier this month, eventually shrugged off the hefty challenge and said there was no danger of him missing Euro 2012.
"The hamstring is fine but the ribs are in bits after that knee. Ah na, it's fine," joked Keane.
"I just found it hard to breathe. It took a few minutes to catch my breath again. It's a little bit sore but it's nothing too serious."
Keane was impressed with the performances of many of his team-mates against a strong visiting side, but there were special mentions for James McClean, Richard Dunne and man-of-the-match Aiden McGeady.
"He (McClean) played very well. We all know what he is capable of doing," said the Ireland skipper. "All the players did well. I thought Aiden McGeady did well when he came on. I thought he was superb.
"It was a typical performance from Richard. He was solid and not losing many headers playing against two good centre-forwards.
"That's what we expect from Richard. He's been like that for a number of years. He is very important for what we are trying to do here."
"They (Bosnia) are similar to Croatia, who we are going to play in the first game, in the way they get the ball down and pass it," Keane added.
"They keep the ball moving and they did that today. Full credit to our team because we defended that well and had our own chances."
The Ireland squad travel to Italy tomorrow morning in a positive frame of mind as they continue their pre-tournament preparations.
Keane cited the relaxed mood in the camp as one of the reasons for the good performance at the Aviva Stadium and hopes that continues up to the first game against Croatia on 10 June.
Keane said: "I think it is important that the players stay relaxed up until our first game against Croatia.
"You can get too tensed up. I think as a player the more relaxed you go into a game the better you play. That's always been the case for me.
"The mood has been very relaxed, but in saying that, the intensity in training in football terms has been terrific."
