Southampton defender Maya Yoshida is set to be on the sidelines for five weeks, according to the Saints’ manager Mauricio Pellegrino.
In his pre-match press conference ahead Saturday’s away trip to Burnley, the Southampton boss has confirmed that the Japanese international will miss the majority of, if not all of the Saints’ crucial month in their bid for Premier League survival.
This time last week the Argentine claimed that only Shane Long was doubtful for the FA Cup game against West Brom but the Saints were eventually without Steven Davis, Maya Yoshida AND Sofiane Boufal for the encounter all through injury.
Pellegrino has since confirmed that the latter is back in contention but has also revealed that Yoshida will be out until around April with the setback.
The Japanese international tweeted a picture of himself in a leg brace earlier this week which gave Southampton supporters a pretty good idea that the defender would be out for at least a handful of matches.
The news of Yoshida’s injury comes just a few days after the club confirmed that Florin Gardos had been loaned back to his native Romania – it means that Jan Bednarek will have to deputize as the Saints’ back-up centre-back in the coming matches.
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Yoshida was much more of a starter at the beginning of the campaign but since the festive period Pellegrino has preferred to combine Jack Stephens and Wesley Hoedt – therefore the injury shouldn’t hit the Saints too hard.
However both of the Southampton centre-halves are a yellow card away from suspension, meaning things could get a lot trickier in the coming weeks.
Between now and the start of April the Saints will face a lot of opposition on similar points tallies meaning the coming month is nothing short of season-defining. Losing a first-choice centre-back and your only senior back-up could be hugely damaging in the quest for points.
Southampton fans will be hoping the match with Burnley doesn’t turn into a physical affair, as to not risk losing either defender for the six-pointer against Stoke City the following week.