Shane Long will be fit to face Chelsea, assures West Brom assistant Keith Downing

27 Feb 2013 08:00:00

The former Reading striker suffered an ankle injury in his side's 2-1 victory against Sunderland but will be available to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge

West Bromich Albion assistant head coach Keith Downing is confident that Shane Long will be fit to face Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday March 2.

The Baggies striker was taken off after 66 minutes in the 2-1 victory against Sunderland on February 23 after sustaining an ankle injury, but Downing believes that the Ireland international will be available to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

"Shane didn't train until yesterday (Tuesday)," Downing told the club's official website. "We will assess him later this week but the swelling has gone down quite a bit, so we're hopeful."

The 26-year-old attacker, who has scored nine goals this season, missed training at the beginning of the week as a precaution, but Downing insists that the injury is 'not serious'.

"It was the early part of the week and he didn't train on Monday as a precaution," he said. "But he should be back to normal by Thursday and Friday.

"It's not serious and we should be able to strap it up if necessary," added the Baggies' assistant coach.

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