With Southampton continuing their preparations for the Premier League clash at Old Trafford against Manchester United on Saturday afternoon, manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has confirmed we will be without two players for the tricky tie.
The injuries sustained by Danny Ings and Mario Lemina don’t come as a surprise to Southampton fans, Ings last featured for us at the beginning of February in the 1-1 draw with Burnley at Turf Moor and Lemina has been missing since the defeat to Manchester City back at the end of December.
Speaking to saintsfc today ahead of the game, Hasenhuttl confirmed that the only long term absentee was the unfortunate Michael Obafemi, but Ings and Lemina haven’t returned to training yet so are automatically ruled out. However, the next game is potentially an option, as if they return early next week, they do have a number of days to maybe work themselves into contention.
“I know about the Old Trafford syndrome – everybody wants to be fit to go to Old Trafford, but these two guys are still not able to train with the squad. The rest have passed the last game healthy, so we have no more injuries. It’s for me to decide to bring fresh players in or keep the team that was successful on Wednesday.”
