Southampton: Ward-Prowse feeling effects of long run of football for Saints

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 06: James Ward-Prowse of Southampton during the Premier League match between Southampton and Newcastle United at St Mary's Stadium on November 06, 2020 in Southampton, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 06: James Ward-Prowse of Southampton during the Premier League match between Southampton and Newcastle United at St Mary's Stadium on November 06, 2020 in Southampton, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images) /
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Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse has pulled out of Gareth Southgate’s England squad with a minor injury.

A statement from southamptonfc.com confirmed that the Saints captain will not be available for his country for three upcoming fixtures and will instead spend the next two weeks healing a tight hamstring.

Ward-Prowse is not the only player to have withdrawn from Southgate’s plans with a heavy schedule increasing the risk of injuries.

Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold is also out after picking up a calf complaint recently, whilst Marcus Rashford is not expected to link up with the national team until Thursday as he recovers from a knock.

Former Birmingham City and current Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham comes in to replace Ward-Prowse and could become one of the youngest England debutants ever at just 17.

For Ward-Prowse, this slight injury may be the result of consistent weeks of football with very little break over the past year or so.

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In fact – as stated in our tweet above – the 26-year-old has missed just 117 minutes of football for Saints since his first start under Ralph Hasenhuttl back in December 2018.

He started ever game that Saints played last season and missed just 50 minutes of FA Cup game time after an injury picked up at Spurs in the Fourth-Round replay.

During the 2019/20 campaign, he actually covered 334km in the Premier League alone – over 17km more than second-placed Declan Rice in this stat.

The demands of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s style of play mean that Ward-Prowse and his partner in the centre of the pitch – most often Oriol Romeu – have to cover a huge amount of ground and are constantly shifting up and down the pitch in a set pressing pattern.

It is inevitable that Saints will have to deal with many injuries this season but they will hope that they are short-term problems like this one and that they keep as many key players as they can on the pitch at one time.

Star man Danny Ings picked up a knee injury in the 4-3 win over Aston Villa recently and is expected to be out for around 4-6 weeks after minor surgery.

Next. Romeu's form pivotal for Saints in recent success. dark