Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni is relieved to have skipper Robbie Keane available for Tuesday’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Andorra (5/4 Republic of Ireland – To Qualify).

Keane reported no ill-effects from his outing in the win over Armenia on Friday night.

And Trapattoni said he had taken the 30-year-old striker off as a precaution, as he had been struggling with a knee problem.

He said: “I gave him a little bit of a rest because he had, not an injury, but some pain and I wanted to be cautious about it.”

The Ireland (80/1 – to win Euro 2012) squad will also be boosted ahead of the Armenia tie by Ipswich defender Darren O’Dea’s return to training following a sprained knee.

Hull?s Paul McShane is also available for the Armenia game after being ruled out of the Armenia trip due to a hamstring injury. However, Fulham’s Damien Duff will not have shaken off his calf strain in time to play.

Trapattoni was happy to settle for a 1-0 victory in Armenia, having insisted before the game that winning by the only goal would do for.

The Italian saw his players given a tough assignment in the sweltering Yerevan Republican Stadium.

Trapattoni said: “It’s not easy for a coach or a manager to say before the game, ‘we will win’.

“We have to respect our opponents and we must have respect for this opponent.

“I felt we could win this game, but my colleague from Armenia would have thought they could win it too.

“I knew it would be a very, very difficult game for us, but I think over the 90 minutes, we deserved to win it.

“For us, it is a very, very important victory because we have started the campaign with this result away from home. That creates confidence and we can go on from here.”

Keane was denied his 44th senior international goal on his 101st appearance when his 31st-minute strike was ruled out by an offside flag, and he later hit the post.

It was left to relative novice Keith Fahey, the Birmingham midfielder, to snatch the points after he came on as a substitute and struck from close range eight minutes later on his first competitive appearance.

Trapattoni was happy that it was mission accomplished in the opening Euro 2012 qualifier.

He said: “I saw the last qualification for the World Cup and Armenia lost one or two games, but played very well.

“I think it will not be easy also for other teams coming here.”

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