Republic of Ireland skipper Robbie Keane has admitted he feared the worst when he suffered a calf injury on the eve of the Euro 2016 finals.

The 35-year-old striker is not expected to resume training until the middle of next week at the earliest after damaging the muscle on Saturday, but is confident that if he does not make the opening game against Sweden in Paris on June 13 he will definitely be fit for the clash with Belgium in Bordeaux five days later.

Keane told FAI TV: “Listen, it’s never nice when you get injured, but certainly at this stage because of the European Championship. But luckily for me, it’s not as bad as I first thought.

Robbie Keane on his injury, #EURO2016 before hailing the togetherness of the team & the country.. #COYBIGhttps://t.co/x0D2wgvRgJ

— FAIreland (@FAIreland) June 2, 2016

“I thought it was going to be a lot longer. They are saying a couple of weeks, which would obviously get me (fit) for the Sweden game, or maybe if I miss that one, I’ll definitely be ready for the second game. So it’s bad news, but it could have been a lot worse.”