Robbie Keane is out of the Euro 2012 showdown with Armenia and could struggle to make next month’s play-off if the Republic of Ireland qualify.

The captain has a leg muscle injury which has been causing him pain for a few weeks and forced him to miss LA Galaxy’s last two games before he left  the United States — although little was made of his absence at the time.

The problem was aggravated during Ireland’s 2-0 win in Andorra on Friday night. But Ireland assistant manager Marco Tardelli said Keane, who missed the squad’s training session in Malahide yesterday morning, will be given as long as possible to prove his fitness before the final Group B match at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Main man: Robbie Keane is unlikely to face Armenia on Tuesday

Tardelli said: ‘Robbie has a little problem in the leg. He has had a scan which shows there is blood at the back of the leg. It is a problem but we are hopeful he will recover.

‘He will not train and we will wait until the last minute because he deserves it. But it will be very difficult. Robbie doesn’t need to run much, he’s a skilful player. He had a little problem before the Andorra game but after Andorra the problem was worse.’

Sportsmail understands the former Tottenham striker could be out for up to a month, which would leave manager Giovanni Trapattoni having to reshuffle his strikeforce for a game  Ireland need to draw to secure a play-off place.

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