Saints Marching
Fansided

Southampton: Ralph confirms multiple injury issues ahead of Fulham clash

By Marc Walker

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 01: Danny Ings of Southampton celebrates with teammates Jannik Vestergaard and Stuart Armstrong after scoring his team's fourth goal during the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Southampton at Villa Park on November 01, 2020 in Birmingham, 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 Michael Steele/Getty Images)
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 01: Danny Ings of Southampton celebrates with teammates Jannik Vestergaard and Stuart Armstrong after scoring his team's fourth goal during the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Southampton at Villa Park on November 01, 2020 in Birmingham, 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 Michael Steele/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Southampton head to Fulham on Boxing Day and will be looking to get back to winning ways after a narrow loss to Manchester City last weekend.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side still sit in a promising position of seventh still and will be targeting upcoming games to push back into the top-six.

Ahead of their upcoming fixture with Fulham, Hasenhuttl has confirmed he has a number of injury worries to assess as he prepares his side for a trip to South London.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Wednesday, he said:

"“After the very intense last week with three games in six days, you can see that some guys are struggling a little bit.“It’s early in the week, but I can only tell you who didn’t train so far; that is Ingsy, Jannik Vestergaard, Redmond. Ori is suspended, so we have a few issues.“Stuey (Armstrong) had a problem with his hand, with somebody stepping on it. I think it’s not a problem, but we have a few issues, so we must have a look in the next two or three days.”"

Stuart Armstrong of Southampton celebrates with team-mates (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images)
Stuart Armstrong of Southampton celebrates with team-mates (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images) /

Danny Ings’ hamstring problem was always likely to keep him out for this weekend but it will be a blow for Saints to have Jannik Vestergaard and Nathan Redmond nursing knocks too.

Stuart Armstrong’s problem does not sound so severe and Hasenhuttl did confirm that he expects the Scotland international to be available to face Fulham.

More from Saints Marching

Potential issues for Ings, Vestergaard and Redmond limit options for Saints though and they also have Oriol Romeu out through suspension after he picked up five yellow cards.

Looking at replacements for these players suggests that huge opportunities may be on their way for some for at least this coming weekend.

Ibrahima Diallo will surely make his first Saints start after signing from Stade Brest in the summer transfer window, whilst Vestergaard could be replaced by Mohammed Salisu or Jack Stephens if he is not fit.

Theo Walcott formed a good partnership with Che Adams whilst Danny Ings was injured before and is the most likely to start upfront if the current situation remains the same.

Ralph Hasenhuttl has always said that he wants a tight squad – two options for each position to keep competition and, therefore, individual performances at a high level.

Now will be the most testing time of the 2020/21 season for his group though as they contend with a heavy fixture list and potential injury problems along the road.

Next. Saints fans barred from St Mary's once again. dark

Home/Southampton FC News