Roy Hodgson slams Aston Villa's Alan Hutton

West Bromwich Albion boss Roy Hodgson has slammed Aston Villa defender Alan Hutton after a strong challenge on Shane Long left the striker with suspected knee ligament damage.

Long left the field after 20 minutes of West Brom's 2-1 win at Villa Park, and Hodgson said that the 24-year-old was lucky not to have "two broken legs".

"I'm very pleased with the result and the performance but very disappointed about Shane Long's injury," Hodgson said. "It was a wicked challenge."

"If ever I've seen a challenge that merited a red card, it was Hutton on Long.

"It is a scan job but Long is lucky because he could have had two broken legs.

"Maybe the scan will show it wasn't as bad as all that. We don't think it is a cruciate knee ligament injury, which is good. But there are a lot of other ligaments in knees which can keep you out for a long time. It is a relatively serious injury."

West Brom are currently 12th in the Premier League with 11 points from nine games.