Roy Keane was choosing his words with the tact of a diplomat when he addressed one of the nation's current sporting topics on a promotional visit to Dublin yesterday. Keane's shattered knee and his prospects of making a full recovery in time for next year's World Cup finals - should Ireland make the cut for France `98 - has been known to come between mature minds and contented sleep.

And regrettably, there was little solace on offer for them yesterday as the great protagonist spoke of the consequences of his confrontation with Alf-Inge Haaland of Leeds United a fortnight ago.

Refusing to put a time limit on his recuperation from an imminent operation to repair a torn cruciate ligament, he said that his fate was now in the hands of medical science.

"I never say never and as such, I'm not ruling out anything but at this stage, it's a matter of talking to the surgeon and trying to be back for pre-season training next year," he said. "It's very important that the operation goes well but a lot also depends on my attitude.

Medical estimates suggest that the Manchester United team captain will require eight months to get himself fully fit again, a schedule which would have him back at roughly the same time as the World Cup programme starts in France. But he still has his reservations.

"Hopefully, we'll qualify for the finals and we'll see what happens. But I won't be setting myself any targets - that would be too dangerous. It would be asking a bit much to go straight into the World Cup finals without any games behind me. Even if I felt that way inclined, I would still have to talk the matter over with Alex Ferguson."

Somebody suggested that Manchester United's arrival in the final of the European Champions league in May, might do something to accelerate what to the uninitiated, seems an unusually protracted rehabilitation.

Maybe so, but if Keane felt enthused by that prospect, it wasn't reflected in a dismissive response which was, it has to be said, out of sync with the general tone of a series of interviews he gave yesterday.

Keane's emergence among the most highly-profiled players in Europe, is reflected in the ancillary income he now commands. And on the evidence of yesterday's interviews, he is acutely aware of the obligations it imposes.

Yet, there were occasions when he spoke with the kind of raw emotion which transcends hard professionalism. Like when he recounted the moment he knew that he had, indeed done himself real damage in that skirmish with Haaland.

He recalled that when the surgeon had completed exploratory surgery, he broke the bad news with the words "Sorry, Roy but I'm afraid your knee is knackered" And recalling the moment of impact with the Leeds player, he said: "I heard something snap but then tried to play on. It was only when I attempted a short pass that I knew for sure that something was badly wrong".

The case histories of people like Paul Gascoigne and Niall Quinn prove that there is life after cruciate operations. But for every one which succeeds, there is another which substantiates the belief that this is, indeed, the most treacherous of all football injuries.

But with the resources of Manchester United and the goodwill of millions behind him, Roy Keane is optimistic that at 26, all the best years are still ahead of him.