Why Smallbone wasn't in the matchday squad to face Manchester United
By Aakash Desai
Before the Manchester United match, manager Russell Martin revealed that there would be some changes in the starting lineup as has been expected after the 3-1 away defeat against Brentford two weeks ago. While young players such as Cameron Archer, Mateus Fernandes and Tyler Dibling were highly likely to be brought into the side, there was a surprising fourth change for Southampton as well. New loan signing Lesley Ugochukwu, who joined the Saints on a season long loan move from Chelsea replaced holding midfielder Will Smallbone in the Southampton lineup.
Further, the 24-year-old deep lying playmaker wasn't included in the matchday squad to face the Red Devils as well. The sparked rumours suggesting that the Republic of Ireland international picked up an injury in this international break. Those speculations were confirmed by manager Russell Martin, who revealed that Smallbone had picked up an injury while representing his national team in the UEFA Nations League this month.
Why Smallbone wasn't in the matchday squad to face Manchester United
Smallbone made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in a 2-0 defeat against England despite a good performance, and put in a Man of the Match display against the 2-0 defeat against Greece as well. Therefore, Smallbone is in a good recent form, however, his injury will sideline him from the next few matches for Southampton. While Ugochukwu performed decent in the first half, he had an underwhelming display in the second half like the rest of the Southampton players.
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Therefore, manager Russell Martin now have to think about creating a good midfield in the absence of Smallbone alongside organising a reliable defence and a good attack. This is a massive blow for the Saints given their defensive struggles and with four consecutive defeats in the Premier League, Russell Martin's need to start winning the next few matches in order to avoid being in a relegation battle in the second half of the season.
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