Republic of Ireland striker Clinton Morrison is confident he will be fit after his groin injury to play some part in Birmingham City's Premiership opener with champions Arsenal at Highbury on Sunday. But the £4million record signing from Crystal Palace admits a chronic lack of match fitness means he may struggle to last the entire 90 minutes against the Gunners.
Morrison has barely 20 minutes of pre-season action under his belt after being excluded from Palace's build-up before the deal went through and then only featuring briefly against Tranmere and Stoke for Blues before being stretchered off at the Britannia Stadium.
The Irish striker admitted: "I am not going to be match fit for Sunday but I am going to be physically fit. Fingers crossed that I can take some part in the game against Arsenal. I'm available to start so it's up to the manager (Steve Bruce) now. I might not last the game but I'll try my best. Part of the problem is the lack of pre-season friendlies I've played. I only had 15 minutes on the pitch against Tranmere Rovers and then six minutes at Stoke City before getting injured and I had no games before the transfer for Palace."
He added: "It's a big disappointment that I won't be 100% for the start of the season but I am just happy to make the game. I've had this groin problem for the past two weeks but it's healing now. I did a bit of running today and I should train with the lads on Thursday."
Filed by Shane Murray
