Simon Rusk confirms that Armel Bella-Kotchap and Albert Gronbaek will not be considered for Southampton's final two games this season.
Recently, boss Rusk dropped a concerning update on Kyle Walker-Peters, who might miss the remaining games. But what's surprising is that he may not be the only one in Southampton's bulky squad who has seen out this season, unknowingly.
Sadly, this speculation is the bitter reality as we know another set of names who will join Walker-Peters in this concerning list.
It's the duo of Albert Gronbaek and Armel Bella-Kotchap.
Despite being backed by boss Rusk initially, loanee Gronbaek's Achilles issue has ruled him out for good. The same is true for the failed defensive signing, Bella-Kotchap, whose exclusion emerges from the recent displays of Southampton’s in-form centre-backs.
Rusk clears off leftover optimism among fans about failed signing duo
Recently, ahead of the Everton clash, Rusk admitted about Gronbaek's situation to the Daily Echo, saying: "Albert has had one or two issues with his Achilles, which might be one to think about over the next 10 days in training."
Talking of Bella-Kotchap's reason to miss the upcoming games, the interim said: "We do have a lot of players to choose from at centre-back and there has been really good performances in the back three in recent weeks."
In truth, in addition to the duo's unavoidable situations, their lack of Saints' motivation has definitely halted their success. But, a part of their failure lies on Rusk's shoulders too.
Like it or not, despite promising, Rusk has fallen short of his promise to ensure a level playing field for all players in the lineup selection. And what's disappointing is that having aimed to improve on ex-boss Juric's squad planning, the interim has seen Southampton take a step back.
Hence, while we saw many bench players like Paul Onuachu, Kamaldeen Sulemana shine in regular lineup roles, we haven't seen such success under boss Rusk till now.
Anyway, for Gronbaek and Bella-Kotchap, their season or perhaps their Southampton tenure might already be over. While Gronbaek looks to relaunch himself at Stade Rennais, Bella-Kotchap now hopes for one final aid from ex-boss Juric to secure a fresh start at Torino.