Republic of Ireland defender Richard Keogh out for the season with serious knee injury

Richard Keogh is expected to miss out on the rest of Derby County’s Championship campaign having sustained a ‘serious knee injury’ on Tuesday evening.

Keogh, who has forged an impressive defensive partnership with Shane Duffy in recent years for the Boys in Green, will be a huge loss ahead of next month’s crunch European Qualifiers against Georgia and Switzerland next month.

The 33 year old was injured after an alcohol related incident on Tuesday evening, where emergency services were on hand to deal with the situation quickly.

The club have also confirmed that the three players involved in the incident will be the subject of a ‘rigorous internal investigation’.

Keogh’s absence will be felt mostly at his club Derby County – who will be without their talismanic captain until the end of the season.  

“As a club, we cannot, and do not, condone the actions of a small group of players on Tuesday evening,” a statement from the Rams reads.

“The players were out as part of a scheduled team-building dinner with staff and while the majority of them acted responsibly and left at around 8pm and were not involved, a small group, including the team captain Richard Keogh, continued drinking into the night.

“They should have known when to stop and also ignored the opportunity to be driven home using cars laid on by the club, and chose to stay out.

“As a result of an alcohol-related incident, Richard Keogh has sustained a serious knee injury that will prevent him from playing until the end of the season.

“The players involved in the incident on Tuesday evening will be subject to a rigorous internal investigation under the club’s code of conduct and disciplinary procedures, but over and above any punishment they receive we will be expecting them to become involved with the excellent work the Community Trust does helping the communities we serve.

“We have been very clear about our attitude towards alcohol and the players know that at certain and specific times of the season they are permitted a drink together as a group in a controlled environment.

“Those involved in Tuesday’s incident know they will pay a heavy price for their actions, but also that we will support them with their rehabilitation back into the squad and team.

“We fully support the work of our partners at Drinkaware and the unsanctioned actions of this small group of players is totally at odds the stance that both Drinkaware and Derby County Football Club take regards alcohol. We will be using this situation to redouble our efforts in highlighting the dangers posed by alcohol.

“We would also like to thank the emergency services for their swift help.”