Russel Martin has acknowledged that Saints are fighting with a sickness bug ahead of their Premier League game against the Blues. Southampton boss Russel Martin could be without many players for Saturday’s game against Everton. He announced on Tuesday night that some members of his first-team squad have been infected with an illness bug.
Saints have earned one point from nine Premier League games this season and are at the bottom of the standings. On Tuesday, they qualified for the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, albeit it took an 88th-minute goal to defeat Stoke City 3-2. Martin indicated after the game that he has had a number of availability concerns, and that an illness may prohibit a number of players from participating in training later this week. “We had a few guys that were going to play tonight that can’t because they’re not very well,” he told me. “There was a virus going around the camp. I believe everyone has had it at some point in the past few weeks. Flynn [Downes] could have played, but he didn’t feel well.
“Wee Man [Ryan Fraser] wasn’t feeling great before the game but wanted to give it a shot, and then he felt a little tight and fatigued. He didn’t have his typical spark, so he came off, but he gave it his all and wanted to give it a shot, which I believe would be beneficial to him.
“Even with half an hour, perhaps he will feel better very soon. I anticipate that by Friday or Thursday, everyone will be back in training and feeling well. Jack Stephens was on the bench, but he might have played if he felt better following Saturday. Adam Armstrong is fine; we are simply controlling his minutes.
“We had a couple of people at the training ground, like Ryan Manning, who, like the other men who aren’t involved, were pretty put off. He hasn’t been feeling good since the weekend. I expect some of them to train tomorrow, and the majority, if not all, to be ready by Thursday or Friday. Southampton will also be missing goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu owing to a long-term achilles condition, while midfielder Will Smallbone has missed the last six games with a knee injury.
Everton travel to the south coast unbeaten in their past five Premier League games, however the Blues struggled in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Fulham.
Leave a Reply