Russell Martin thinks key Southampton player could miss several weeks as he shares injury update
Southampton make the short trip to Bournemouth on Monday night for a south coast showdown in which Russell Martin will hope to get his first Premier League win as a manager.
Southampton currently sit 18th in the league, with last week’s 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town handing Russell Martin‘s side their first point of the campaign.
It has been a poor start for Southampton but they can take confidence from a much-improved showing against Ipswich in which they were desperately unlucky to concede a 95th-minute equaliser due to a huge deflection.
Southampton have a good record against Bournemouth over the years and they should head to the Vitality Stadium confident that they can get a result against the Cherries who themselves have only beat Everton in the league this season.
Will Smallbone set to miss Southampton trip to Bournemouth
The side Martin chose to send out last weekend had a very different feel to the one that started the season as it included nine summer signings.
Two key players from last season came out of the side in Adam Armstrong and Kyle Walker-Peters, whilst Jack Stephens was suspended and Joe Aribo took up a spot on the bench.
One player from last season who was absent entirely was midfielder Will Smallbone, who has not featured since picking up an injury whilst representing Ireland in the last international break.
Martin addressed the media on Thursday afternoon to preview the Bournemouth match where he provided an update on Smallbone’s fitness.
Martin was asked whether Smallbone is still injured, to which he responded: “He’s still out, so the team news will still be the same.”
The Saints boss then added a prognosis, saying: “He’ll be another week or two, maybe even the other side of the international break. We’ll do our very best for the Arsenal game but for this one he’ll be out.”
Kamaldeen Sulemana remains out for Southampton
Smallbone aside, Martin has almost a full squad to choose from.
Gavin Bazunu remains a long-term absentee due to the Achilles injury he sustained in April and was not included in Southampton’s Premier League squad for the first half of the season as he is not expected to return until well into 2025.
Ross Stewart continued to build his fitness with another cameo off the bench against Ipswich, so that means Kamaldeen Sulemana is the only other absentee for Southampton for Bournemouth.
Martin confirmed in his press-conference that the situation remains the same with Sulemana in that he is still one or two weeks away from a return to full training.
Russell Martin is currently reaping the rewards of the Southampton academy with Tyler Dibling and Adam Lallana both playing starring roles against Ipswich Town.
Tyler Dibling and Adam Lallana are both at very different stages for their career, with Lallana double Dibling’s age at 36.
