Shane Long is a massive doubt for Ireland’s Euro 2012 play-off with Estonia after falling victim to a sickening two-footed challenge from Alan Hutton yesterday.
In the immediate aftermath of the game, Long was prematurely ruled out of both games with Estonia next month, but speaking to Darragh Maloney on Premier Soccer Saturday last night, the West Brom forward said that he is still hoping to be fit and is due to undergo a scan on the injury on Monday to determine the full extent of the problem.
Early in the first half, the Tipp native was chasing a ball after a poor first touch against Aston Villa at Villa Park when Hutton dived in off his feet and caught Long’s knee with both legs, sending him flying into the air and subsequently crashing to the ground.
Thankfully for Long, his standing foot was not stuck in the ground and he avoided a broken leg, but he is still thought to have damaged ligaments in his knee, which could rule him out for an extended period. Amazingly, Hutton avoided sanction for the tackle, which really was one of the worst you will see all season.
An injury to Long is the last thing Ireland need at the moment. Kevin Doyle is suspended for the first leg against Estonia, while Garth Brooks aficionado Robbie Keane is currently sidelined with an adductor injury and faces a race against time to be fit.
Consequently, Giovanni Trapattoni could well be left with a hard-working but very ordinary strikeforce of Jonathan Walters and Simon Cox for the first leg in Tallinn, with Doyle due to return for the second leg at the Aviva Stadium.
Having shockingly ignored Long for the clash with Armenia earlier this month, there was no guarantee that Trapattoni would have picked him for the play-offs, but it would have been hard to ignore him given his scintillating club form of late.
Hopefully, he’ll be able to provide the ageing Italian with a welcome headache ahead of the biggest game in Irish football in many a year.
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