As Southampton fight to leapfrog Ipswich Town and Leeds United in the race to secure the final automatic Championship promotion spot, their injury list is beginning to pile up at the worst possible time.
Southampton injury news
Russell Martin will already be forced to contend without Newcastle United loanee Ryan Fraser until after the international break and long-term absentees Ross Stewart and Juan Larios for an extended period of time, meaning that any more injuries only add to Saints’ frustrations.
With Tony Mowbray’s Birmingham City side up next, Martin’s men must return to winning ways if they are to close the five-point gap separating themselves, Ipswich and Leeds. As things stand, even after a club-record unbeaten run, Southampton will be forced to settle for a place in the play-offs. And that’s why Kyle Walker-Peters’ injury has come at the worst time.
Martin confirmed that Walker-Peters will miss the game against Birmingham and could be out until after the international break, as Birmingham Live reported what they call a ‘significant’ injury blow: “He won’t be very long out, tomorrow will be a stretch I think but it was really good news with Kyle. Hopefully [he’ll be] involved in one of the two games after that or both, but if not he’ll definitely be back after the [international] break so it was fairly positive news.”
Whilst Martin chose to see the positives, there’s no denying that injuries to both Fraser and Walker-Peters have come at a frustrating time, as Southampton look to turn their form around.
