Martin O’Neill will be relieved.
Shane Long hobbled out of Southampton’s loss to Bournemouth on Tuesday night.
The Republic of Ireland striker picked up a knock to his knee following a collision with Cherries’ defender Steve Cook and was forced to leave the field 20 minutes from full-time.
With Martin O’Neill naming his squad next week for the upcoming friendlies against Switzerland and Slovakia, any injuries would prove a headache to the Ireland manager’s plans for Euro 2016.
However, while Long is set to miss this weekend’s game against Sunderland, Saints boss Ronald Koeman expects the Tipp native to be back in action next weekend.
While Charlie Austin is set to miss the next three or four weeks, meaning Long will most likely come straight back into the Southampton XI.
Koeman says #SaintsFC's @chazaustin9 is out for three or four weeks, while @ShaneLong7 won't feature against #SAFC – https://t.co/HkQwh3kv0e
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) March 3, 2016
Ireland teammate Harry Arter also limped out the game on Tuesday. However, there’s yet to be an injury update on the Bouremouth midfielder, who O’Neill will undoubtedly hope to use in the upcoming friendlies.
