Southampton forward admits he needs surgery on hand injury

Southampton forward Mohamed Elyounoussi has admitted that he requires surgery on a hand injury that he picked up on international duty with Norway.

The 27-year-old has worked his way back into the plans of current Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl but had to play with strapping on his hand during last weekend’s 1-0 win over Leeds. Now he has revealed the severity of the problem that he has.

Speaking to Norwegian broadcaster TV2 (via Sports Witness), he said:

"“It happened against Montenegro after my first goal. I landed wrong. I thought at first I had just sprained my thumb, but it now turns out I’ve broken ligaments. It’s a big injury, actually.”"

Southampton’s schedule being prioritised by Elyounoussi

It seems that Elyounoussi will be playing on with strapping and painkillers for now and will be committed to playing on through some pain for Southampton in the meantime.

It is unclear when he will be having the operation to fix his broken ligaments but he has made seven appearances in all for Saints so far in 2021/22. Four goals and two assists prove that he can still be an attacking threat as he looks to pay off some of his original £16m transfer fee.

Although things remain unclear at this time, a date will have to be set that allows Elyounoussi to miss as little time on the pitch for Southampton or Norway as possible. He also has three goals in internationals since September and is a regular starter for his nation.

Perhaps most importantly, this is not an injury that will limit his ability to run for a long time. The main issue will be any knocks that he could get to his hand when he returns to action, and the area will have to be healed properly to avoid any chance of this.