Southampton striker and star man Danny Ings could return to action ahead of schedule after minor knee surgery recently.
The 28-year-old was forced off in the 4-3 over Aston Villa at the beginning of November and a 4-6 week recovery was predicted after a procedure to sort a meniscus cartilage issue.
Now Saints CEO Martin Semmens has revealed that Ings will be back in December – potentially within four weeks of his surgery.
Via an interview with the Total Saints Podcast – which you can listen to here – Semmens said:
"“There was a timescale put on the operation and within five minutes he was saying ‘forget that’ and ‘I’m going to be 10 days quicker than that’.“We don’t know the timescale, but I think we can confidently say that he will be back playing for us in December and contributing at his highest level.”"
It is, of course, important to recognise that Ings will not be rushed back if he is not 100% ready to play.
A minor injury – especially is such an key joint as the knee – can develop into a larger and more complex problem if the situation is not managed properly.
More from Saints Marching
- Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 2: Arrivals
- Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 1: Departures
- It’s time to talk about Gavin Bazunu
- Rain clouds on the horizon? Southampton beat Plymouth Argyle
- A lament for Southampton legend James Ward-Prowse
Semmens also suggests that the club do not know when in December Ings will return, meaning that it could also be six weeks before he is back.
However, there are many things that mean Ralph Hasenhuttl could have his main goalscoring threat back in excellent time.
From Semmens’ words about Ings wanting to get back 10 days before schedule, we can tell that he is absolutely determined to get back playing as soon as he possibly can – that determination is also evident in his style on the pitch too as he always gives whatever he can to the team’s cause.
Saints also have a great record of working with Ings on his fitness in the past.
Despite a hot and cold first season in red and white back in 2018/19, he returned in arguably the best shape he has ever been in to plunder 24 Premier League goals in 2019/20.
Before his injury in this campaign too he had started with five goals in the opening seven league fixtures.
He remains a crucial player for the club and will be until the day he leaves, but it is great to see him so hungry to be involved in the current success Saints are having.