Seamus Coleman suffered a sickening injury in Republic Of Ireland's 0-0 FIFA World Cup qualifying draw with 10-man Wales on Saturday (AEDT).

The Everton full-back was on the receiving end of a reckless challenge from Neil Taylor, who was shown a straight red card in a game that also saw Gareth Bale pick up a caution that rules him out of Wales's trip to Serbia.

That sorry end to Coleman's outing 21 minutes from time became the talking point of a match that had failed to capture the imagination, with Wales's hopes of reaching Russia 2018 hanging in the balance after a fourth consecutive draw in Group D.

Chris Coleman's side has failed to recapture the magic of its UEFA Euro 2016 exploits and the opening-game defeat of Moldova remains its only win, while the point left Ireland second in the group.

In a game of few chances, it was Bale who came closest to winning it with a strike that flashed just wide in the closing stages, while James McClean was denied by some assiduous defending earlier in the second half.

These two will meet again in the final round of group games and, for now at least, it is advantage Ireland.

When Wales played in Dublin six years ago the attendance for their Nations Cup win over Northern Ireland was just 529, but this match was played against the backdrop of tremendous backing for both sides.