SHANE Long was absent from the Republic of Ireland's training session today after injuring his ankle.

The striker came off the bench in the 2-0 defeat to Chelsea, where he picked up the knock.

And Republic of Ireland manager, Martin O'Neill, confirmed that Long will need to get his ankle assessed before their UEFA Nations League tie with Denmark on Saturday.

However, O'Neill is confident that Saints' striker will be fit after he left him in the squad - despite cutting six players today.

The Republic of Ireland boss said: "It’s not that sore, it is just puffed up. It may be a matter of resting it for a day or two. But he thinks that he should be okay."