Ryan Bertrand could be missing from the Saints team for a few weeks after pulling up injured in the England win over Malta.

Ryan Bertrand was named in the starting line up for England's game at Wembley against Malta, it was a chance for him to stake his claim ahead of Luke Shaw for the coming World Cup qualifying campaign, but it ended in frustration for the Saints right back when he puled up with a hamstring injury early in the game.

He has now returned to Southampton to have the injury assessed by Saints medical staff, but the reality is that it could be several weeks before he is 100%.

The hope is that he pulled up with a twinge rather than a full blown tear, if he did then the time out injured could be substantially reduced however it looks like he will definitely miss Saints game against Burnley and possibly the trip to Inter Milan as a minimum and probably a week or two longer.

But Claude Puel although knowing that Bertrand is a vital squad member will be confident that in Matt Targett he has a very capable replacement.

Puel's policy of playing Targett in the Europa League and League cup so far means that Targett comes in with a fair amount of game time this season and raring to go to prove that he has the ability to make himself a regular member of the side.

Targett has shown that he can play in a defence that can keep clean sheets and although of course Bertrand is a crucial element of the team, it will not be weakened significantly and Saints will hope that if Targett plays against the Lancashire club and again in Milan that perhaps that will give Bertrand a couple of weeks rest and enable him to play against Manchester City, a game when Saints could really use Bertrand's pace.

Photo: Action Images

Bettwsresident added 22:02 - Oct 9 grrrrr! Still, in Matty Targett, we have one of the better understudies in the saints squad.
0

leighsaint added 22:09 - Oct 9 He was missing from last weeks under 21 match with an injury hope if he's recovered he doesn't get injured again if picked this week
0

steve73 added 06:34 - Oct 10 On the plus side at least it's happened in the only non-midfield outfield position where we have able cover. The thinness of this squad in certain areas is still a ticking timebomb.
0

schatfield added 08:44 - Oct 10 As much as I like Targett, he isnt a patch on Bertrand sorry to say. I saw Shane Long got injured too (and after scoring!)....
0

DPeps added 09:47 - Oct 10 Another reason to hate the international break
3

SaintBrock added 09:53 - Oct 10 Ryan's injury could be a huge blow and of course if Targett is not 100% over his injury or match fit then of course he could end up in exactly the same boat as Bertrand, so Puel needs to be careful with the young fella. "Were I he", I'd put Yoshida in there and use his "fastest in the PL pace" down the wing and to get back into position after runs. He also has the height to hold the back line at set piece corners when Fonte and VVD go into the box. What I would not do is change to a three at the back set-up simply because the lads are only just coming to terms with the diamond set-up so we should stick with that. Too many changes and we'll be back to square one.

1

A1079 added 13:30 - Oct 10 We always miss Bertrand when he is not playing. Our performances are generally better when he is in the team. He is another one that has a poor injury/absence record.
1

larry12 added 17:31 - Oct 10 Steve73. Targett injured, Cedric injured, Bertrand injured, Pied injured, I hope Martina can play right and left back at the same time. Ample cover???????????????
1

highfield49 added 12:05 - Oct 11 Hasn't McQueen shown a lot of promise at left back this season? How many teams have three experienced players to cover every injury in every position? Several teams have had to improvise due to a glut of injuries in one position or another this season and I have no doubt that we will do so against Burnley. There are supporters who thrive on pessimism and then there are the rest of us who believe in the squad, manager and owners simply because we have no good reason to think otherwise.

0

Blogs 32 bloggers

Southampton Polls