Football injury expert Ben Dinnery has given his thoughts on Mohammed Salisu and his injury situation at Southampton.
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men are in a bit of a weird spot at this point in the season. They have an outside chance of making a run at a European place as they currently sit seven points from seventh place in the league, while there is no real danger when it comes to being dragged into a relegation battle and they’re into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, so it’s difficult to see where their priorities lie.
Whatever their priority is, keeping players fit for the rest of the season is going to be crucial, and that is the situation they find themselves in when it comes to Ghanaian defender Salisu, with Hasenhuttl explaining that he was left out of their game in midweek against West Ham United because of a problem with his hamstring.
Speaking on his YouTube channel ahead of the Saints’ game this weekend against Aston Villa, Dinnery claimed that Salisu should be in contention for the game at Villa Park, noting the time that it will have been over a week since sustaining the problem.
“Salisu, he missed that [West Ham] game – tight hamstring. I’m fairly optimistic that he could return, it’s nothing serious with that one. I think that was an injury that he picked up in the 2-0 win over Norwich.”
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Whilst Dinnery hints that he should be OK and ready for selection, the decision will ultimately come down to what Southampton’s priorities are, as discussed earlier.
The 22-year-old has been a very important figure for the Saints this season, as he leads the team in tackles per game as well as interceptions, ranks second for clearances and joint-second for blocks, whilst also ranking second for aerial duels won. Elsewhere, he is second in terms of passes per game with 51.3 and maintains a pass completion rate of 77.9% (via WhoScored).
So if they want to try and maintain that outside chance at European football, then it would make sense for them to put him back into the team straight away. However, if the priority is to try and make a success of the FA Cup, then taking a cautious approach to his return, putting him on the bench and easing him back into the team might be the best way to go about things.
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