The Saints defender is a fitness doubt for the Premier League game away at Newcastle United this weekend.
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has admitted that key defender Jannik Vestergaard is an injury doubt for the Premier League club’s game at Newcastle United on Saturday.
The 6ft 6in centre-back has been forced to sit out training with a minor niggle, the rigours of the season taking their toll on the player’s body.
Vestergaard is one of several players who could miss out on the game, with Alex McCarthy, Matt Targett and Charlie Austin also having struggled in training, according to Hasenhuttl.
“Jannik Vestergaard has a little bit of a problem and didn’t train the last two days but today maybe he steps back in team training,” the Austrian is quoted by the Daily Echo as saying on Thursday.
“Like in the last weeks also after intense games he had problems and needed longer for recovery, it’s a long season for a huge body and he’s struggling but we look to see if it is possible.”
Since arriving at St Mary’s in the summer from Bundesliga club Borussia Monchengladbach, Vestergaard had found himself in and out of the Saints’ first-team picture before Hasenhuttl’s appointment.
However, the 26-year-old Denmark international has become a crucial member of the manager’s first team, as can be seen by his Transfermarkt season stats, and has been in great form in the club’s quest against relegation.
With Southampton’s game against Newcastle another key encounter in their battle against the drop, the Saints contingent will be desperate to find out whether Vestergaard can pass a late fitness test.
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