Southampton: Mark Hughes reveals that Long is a doubt for the Wolves game
By Chris Hughes
Southampton manager Mark Hughes has told the press this afternoon that Irish international Shane Long could miss the game against Wolves this weekend.
The 31-year-old has made five Premier League appearances so far this campaign as prior to the Liverpool defeat he partnered Danny Ings as his supporting striker. Unsurprisingly he hasn’t yet found the back of the net this season but his worth ethic remains a positive.
However, Hughes has today said that the Irishman is the Saints’ only doubt for the game against Wolves as he hasn’t trained all week with a recurring toe problem.
With that being said, Ings will of course be available again after being ineligible to face his parent club Liverpool last Saturday. The English forward has scored three times for the Saints already in just five appearances so his return will strongly increase Southampton’s chances of winning.
Next. Bartolec almost joined Saints over summer. dark
As a result, Southampton will likely draft in one of Manolo Gabbiadini or Charlie Austin to partner in, and supporters will almost certainly hope that it’s the former, with the Italian having been grossly underused this year.
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Gabbiandini has played all of 50 minutes so far in the Premier League this campaign despite the fact that many – myself included – think he could be a great partner for Ings due to their contrasting styles.
The Italian likes to drop deep whilst Ings prefers to get in behind and therefore the two could compliment each other well – that’s all hypothetical at this point though.
Nonetheless, there’s bound to be supporters who are glad to see that Long is unavailable – not happy that’s he’s injured but just that he may not be available for selection this weekend.
Despite his link-up play and ability in the air, there’s no denying that Long’s days as a dangerous centre-forward are well and truly behind him – his form in the last season under Ronald Koeman was impressive but he’s been underwhelming in the 30 months since.
The game against Wolves is arguably one of the Saints’ more winnable fixtures of those they have between now and the start of the festive period – but even so it’s far from an easy game. Nuno’s side play fluid and attacking football and if the Southampton defence aren’t careful, it could be a very profitable afternoon at Molinuex for the home side.