Ben Brereton Diaz missed Sheffield United's 6-0 playoff win amid speculations of a lengthy injury.
Nowadays, it's playoff eve going on in the Championship. With both the finalists, Sheffield United and Sunderland, decided, the blockbuster is left for a Wembley final now.
Now, like most of the English fanbases, the St. Mary's faithful must've chosen their sides for the final too. But for those who are still neutral, doesn't Sheffield come in as a natural choice?
That's because of obvious reasons to support the only Southampton player still competing this season, Saints loanee Ben Brereton Diaz.
Having been in excellent form throughout his loan spell, Diaz has been integral to Sheffield's journey to the playoffs. And the best part, the forward has made 7 goal contributions in less than 1000 minutes of the Championship game-time.
But not all stories always end up on a brighter note, and this could be the fate of Ben Brereton's loan spell, now.
Ben Brereton Diaz nowhere to be seen in Sheffield's playoff semifinal win
This is because, after having a streak of appearances in all Championship matchdays since his January move, the forward has missed 4 games in a row now. And what's frustrating further is that this includes the last two semifinal legs where Ben Brereton was nowhere to be seen again.
Still, if that wasn't scary enough, this all happened when Sheffield boss Chris Wilder had confirmed to include the 26-year-old in his playoff plans.
Days ago, as quoted by The Star, Wilder claimed: “Ben’s gathering pace, and we'll make a decision whether he travels or not. And if he doesn't, he'll definitely be involved on Monday.”
Well, sadly, due to what seems a long injury run, Ben Brereton missing the much-awaited Final clash can be a possibility now.
Should that happen, naturally, Southampton's hopes to permanently depart Ben Brereton this summer can be affected. And that's even sidelining the pain of the Saints supporters, on Sheffield's side only due to the forward.
Once again, intentionally or unintentionally, Southampton's fate has found them in difficult circumstances. Will the situation improve? Let's see.