The Saints striker, 18, is out of action for the rest of the season. Some fans are now despairing following a January transfer window without signings.
Southampton have been dealt a major blow with the news that Michael Obafemi will be out for the rest of the 2018-19 season with a hamstring injury.
The 18-year-old, who has endured hamstring trouble all season, lasted just 20 minutes into his long-awaited comeback in the 2-0 Premier League defeat against Arsenal at the weekend.
Speaking ahead of Southampton’s relegation six-pointer with Fulham at St Mary’s on Wednesday night, Ralph Hasenhuttl broke the news and described it as a “disaster” for the player.
“It’s a big blow and another big injury at an age when you want to play, get experience and develop,” the Austrian is quoted by Sky Sports News as saying.
“It doesn’t help him for his career and it’s a big problem, for him it’s a disaster. He is down and we have to put an arm around him.”
The injury comes just a few days after Obafemi signed a new three-and-a-half year contract with Southampton and will be especially frustrating given he had broken into the first team.
Following the news, some Southampton fans took to Twitter and expressed their feelings on the update, and what it could mean for the club following a January transfer window in which they didn’t sign any players:
Obafemi has played eight times for the south coast club during the current campaign and made his senior debut for Republic of Ireland in November’s goalless draw with Denmark in the Nations League.
Southampton go into Wednesday night’s game sitting in 18th place in the table and one point from safety, while Fulham are 19th in the standings but a further eight points adrift of safety.
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