KEVIN McDonald’s hopes of facing league leaders Birmingham City hinges on passing tonight’s Lancashire seaside test.

The 19-year Burnley midfielder will start this evening’s reserve team outing at Blackpool needing to prove he has fully recovered from an ankle injury.

With Michael Duff and Alan Mahon already struggling for Saturday’s eagerly-anticpated clash at Turf Moor, Clarets boss Owen Coyle will be eager to have McDonald fit and available to face Birmingham.

The Scotland U21 international – who has missed four games since hurting his ankle against Swansea last month – has stepped up his progress in training this week.

But Coyle insists that his young countryman must show he is ready to face the Championship table-toppers.

“Kevin is going to take part against Blackpool,” said the Burnley manager. “Hopefully, he will play the majority of the game.

“We’ll see if he comes through that. If he does, he will certainly be available for Birmingham.

“He’s trained on Monday and yesterday and done very well. It’s now a case of getting him out there and playing again.

“We just have to make sure that there’s no reaction to the injury.

“It’s been disappointing not to have had Kevin available sooner, but we could not afford to aggravate the problem.

“We’ve treated it in the right way, and the next step for him now is to get a few minutes under his belt.”