Blow for Hasenhuttl: Southampton dealt injury 'problem' vs Leeds as early team news emerges

Southampton have been dealt an injury concern after Ralph Hasenhuttl confirmed that Lyanco is a major doubt for Saturday’s Premier League fixture against Leeds United.

The Saints will be looking to bounce back from the 4-1 curtain-raiser defeat to Tottenham Hotspur when they host Jesse Marsch’s side at St. Mary’s Stadium this weekend in what will be their first home game of the new campaign.

Tino Livramento was expected to be the only player out of action for the red and white stripes after sustaining a serious knee injury towards the end of last season, but another first teamer could now be joining him on the sidelines.

Speaking during his pre-match press conference on Thursday, Hasenhuttl revealed that Lyanco is likely to not be involved in the match-day squad vs Leeds.

As quoted by Southampton’s official website, he said:

“We only had Lyanco during the week not training with the team because he had a problem with his knee.

“The rest of the players were in the sessions. We had two good ones on Tuesday and Wednesday, today was a little bit lighter, after two days we tried to give it a little less intensity today.”

Lyanco only joined Southampton from Torino last summer but has made an instant impact, and potentially not having him available for selection will come as a huge blow for Hasenhuttl.

The 25-year-old averaged an outstanding 3.2 clearances last season, using his 6 foot 2 height to his advantage, alongside making 1.2 tackles per league game, via WhoScored.

The Austrian boss will be hoping that his centre-back’s problem is nothing too serious and that he returns to full fitness as soon as possible as the Saints’ exciting new season gets underway.

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