Southampton dealt injury blow with Armando Broja ruled out vs Watford

Southampton will be without striker Armando Broja for their trip to face Watford in the Premier League on Saturday.

Speaking to journalists in his pre-match press conference, Ralph Hasenhuttl revealed that the young Albanian has not recovered from an ankle injury picked up last week and will be missing from the matchday squad this weekend.

Handing Broja his first two league starts of the 2021/22 season has really paid off for Southampton after seeing him score the winner over Leeds and another important goal against Burnley last weekend.

An opportunity is likely to be handed to Che Adams or Adam Armstrong in Broja’s absence on Saturday, with the former having scored his first goal of the season in the midweek League Cup defeat at Chelsea.

Can another Southampton player step into fill the Broja void?

There is no doubt that Armando Broja has provided an extra dimension to the Southampton attack in the last two weeks.

He looks to have all the required components to his game to become a real star in the future – a turn of pace, height and build and an ability to finish smartly when given a glimpse of goal.

The 20-year-old is only on-loan from Chelsea for this season but could easily win some valuable points for Saints if he is able to come back for an extended run in the team. He has pushed himself ahead of more experienced players in Adam Armstrong and Che Adams and will be looking to retain his place when he is back to full fitness.

In terms of other Southampton team news, it appears that no other first-team players have picked up fresh injuries.

Mohamed Elyounoussi had surgery on his hand injury in midweek and missed the League Cup clash at Chelsea and will be assessed accordingly ahead of this coming weekend, whilst Jack Stephens is still recovering from a longer term knee problem.

James Ward-Prowse has served his three-match ban and is likely to return to the starting line-up.