Travis Kelce will play through the pain barrier tonight - with Taylor Swift set to watch him - as the Chiefs star needs 'heavy strapping on a sprained ankle' to make it onto the field vs. Broncos

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Travis Kelce is expected to play for the Chiefs' Thursday Night Football clash against the Broncos - but the tight end is set to do so with a heavily taped ankle.

The Chiefs star, whose romance with Taylor Swift has again dominated the build up to the game, appeared to be a doubt for tonight's game after suffering a sprained ankle against the Vikings last week.

He missed practice earlier this week but, according to ESPN, the tight end has won his race to be fit in time to play.

Swift is expected to fly in from Hollywood to watch him play - despite major concerns over his ankle injury.

Kelce, who turned 34 last week, feared he had broken a bone when he rolled his foot playing for the Chiefs in Minnesota last Sunday, before bravely playing on and leading his side to victory.

Travis Kelce is set to be fit for the Chiefs' Thursday Night Football clash against the Broncos 

Kelce rolled his ankle in the game vs Minnesota Vikings and feared he had broken a bone 

Earlier on Thursday, in exclusive DailyMail.Com pictures, the tight end was seen leaving his home with one his Chiefs jerseys in his hand while his mom Donna was spotted at a nearby hotel ahead of watching her son play against Denver Broncos.

Swift, 33, has been to Arrowhead Stadium before and was seen wearing a red-and-white Chiefs jacket alongside Donna, 70. The two reunited the following week in New York, where Swift watched Kelce play against the Jets.

But Swift stayed away from Minnesota for the Chiefs' 27-20 victory over the Vikings last week, when quarterback Patrick Mahomes steered clear of Kelce following the tight end's injury scare.

'I don’t like to talk to Travis when he’s hurting because he’s a mean guy,' Mahomes said this week.

'I did not talk to him at halftime. But I kind of just peeked in there and looked at Rick (Buckholder - a trainer for the Chiefs) and he says we’re gonna try to see if he can go.'

Kelce has been nursing injury but is expected to play with Taylor Swift in the stands tonight 

Speaking on the podcast he hosts with his brother Jason, who plays for the Philadelphia Eagles, Travis joked about being a 'grandpa' now that he has to take more care to avoid injury at age 34.

'I just feel like a f**king grandpa out here and just injure myself. So that's what a majority of my frustration was,' he said.

'When I first rolled it, I got right off the field and I really couldn't put much weight on it. So I knew I had to at least see if it was broken.

'We went in, got X-Rays, and from there knew there was nothing structurally wrong with it. So I could just tape that thing up and get back out there.'

Kelce eventually returned to the game and finished the day with ten catches for 67 yards and a touchdown.