Oriol Romeu Set To Return For Southampton V Leeds United
Tuesday, 18th May 2021 09:24

Back in February Oriol Romeu limped off against Leeds United after sustaining a fractured ankle due to the appalling state of the Elland Road pitch, now he is set to return to action against the same side and finish off the job he started at Elland Road.

Oriol Romeu limped off at Elland Road back on the 23rd of February and now he seems set to return for the return fixture at St Mary's just short of 3 months since the injury was sustained.

It was not a horror tackle that broke his ankle but the appalling state of the Eland Road pitch which saw a game where players of both sides were falling over all the time and the grass itself being completely unstable, in truth it was dangerous and the game should not have been played.

This is casting no aspersions on Leeds themselves, they had work done to the pitch and it had not been successful.

On the night Romeu who at that stage of the season was a clear contender for player of the season was having a superb game and he had made what many regard as the best last ditch tackle made by a player this season and perhaps in many a year.

At the time Saints were 1-0 in a game which was poised on a knife edge and losing Romeu was a big blow and we collapsed to a 3-0 defeat which was not as much a rout as the scoreline suggested.

Losing Romeu for what looked like being the rest of the season was a big blow and it made the injury situation again looking pretty bleak after a period where we were struggling to get 11 experienced player on the pitch let alone the bench, our poor run continued and surely if Romeu had been fit we would have been able to get a few more points on the table.

But Oriol Romeu could play a part tonight with Saints assessing the situation after Monday's training session, Ralph Hasenhuttl has hinted that the Spaniard could indeed play some part even if he starts on the bench and it will be interesting to see if this affects his team strategy and formation, especially with the also fit again Jan Bednarek who missed Saturday's win over Fulham.