Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl has labelled some of the tackles meted out by Aston Villa on Sunday as “beyond the edge” and “brutal”, talking to his club’s official website.
The Saints have started this season brilliantly. Hasenhuttl’s men are currently sixth in the league table after winning four and drawing one of their first seven Premier League games.
Southampton showed their quality last weekend when they smashed four past Aston Villa, three of them in the first half. The second half, however, saw the Saints suffer a few hard blows as Villa brought it back to 4-3.
Danny Ings, Ryan Bertrand and Jan Bednarek were all forced off the pitch with injuries, while summer signing Ibrahima Diallo, who came on as a substitute, was also hurt following a strong tackle.
Hasenhuttl: ‘Beyond the edge’
Hasenhuttl said: “We have a lot of injury concerns at the moment. The last game was a tough one. Also sometimes beyond the edge in terms of what is ok for me.
“A few brutal tackles that were tough to get a handle on. We have paid a high price for that.
“It causes me a real headache to be honest because five players have issues now.”
Hassenhutl revealed how the injury problems are looking.
He said: “Jan Bednarek may train today. It was a horrible crash on the ground. Ryan Bertrand is likely to be out for the weekend. Diallo has a dead leg from a hard kick.”
The Saints manager also revealed his star striker’s injury was much worse than he first thought.
He said: “The worst thing is maybe Danny Ings. We said after the game that we hoped it wasn’t bad.
“It could have been much worse, but at the moment he’s out for maybe four to six weeks. He’ll have a small surgery tomorrow. He’s definitely out for now. It’s a small surgery – but a necessary one.”
Southampton face an in-form Newcastle United side on Friday. The Magpies have lost just once in their last seven games in all competitions.
They will pose a big threat to the Saints, who will be considerably weaker when the two sides meet in two days’ time.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
