Robbie Brady, the miracle man.
Well, alright, he doesn't reckon so but he has been hailed as resilient for his comeback from an injury which initially had threatened to ruin his season.
When Robbie Brady fell down that 10-foot well pot hole at Hull's training ground, it looked bleak and, for him, the thought of missing his country's first big clash of the qualifying campaign at the Aviva was at the forefront of his mind.
“This was the biggest thing. As soon as it happened, it was one of the first things to pop into my head, this game," Brady spoke today after training at Malahide. "I was looking forward to getting ready for it and that just put a bit of a bump on the road but I feel great, I’ve done everything I needed to do, and I’ve gotten back for the game that I really wanted to be playing in.
“It’s just, if I have my eye on something, I have my heart set on it and I think I’m going to be back no matter what. This time, I was blessed that it wasn’t as bad as I felt. I haven’t felt it since."
Speculation has been rising as to Brady's chances of a starting berth. With Stephen Ward missing for most of the week through injury, it was thought that the Hull man would step in and take up the same slot he lit up against the USA back in November. But Ward was back in training today and Brady faces a battle for a jersey.
“This where you’ve got to put it on show if you want to play. The lads have been working all week and I’m sure we’ll find out a bit more about who’s going to be playing over the next day or so. Touch wood I’ve done enough to get myself a run but we’ll have to wait and see.
“It would be ideal to go and win the game, especially at home. You’d think of yourself as slight favourite playing on your home ground. It’s a – I wouldn’t say a must-win game, but a must-win game, if you know what I mean. It would be excellent for us to get the three points we need to put us in good stead in the group."
Brady was man of the match in O'Neill's last game for the Republic when they tore America a new one and a late free kick only put the cherry on top of a fine performance.
His club mate, Stephen Quinn, believes Brady can add a lot to the side.
“It was a beauty [the free kick]. I’ve seen that over the last three years," Quinn said. "Robbie’s a free kick specialist. With set pieces, it’s great to have him and he’s been practicing out there and he’s looking good. I think he’ll have a strong chance of starting.
“When we got promoted from the Championship, that’s where he played most of his games [at left back] and he was a real threat there. At the start of the season, he’s started to do it again at left wing back and it suits him I think, coming onto the play.
“Him and Seamus Coleman, they’re big threats from wing back."
