This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Ralph Hasenhuttl has said that Sofiane Boufal cannot train without an injection.
What’s the story?
The 26-year-old has been a regular in all competitions this term, but Hasenhuttl has some worrying news on the midfielder’s condition.
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Speaking before the Saints’ clash against West Ham at St. Mary’s Stadium, he said: “Boufal is getting better and better.
“The problem is it’s not just the toe it’s the tendon underneath that’s hurting, where there is always a lot of pressure on.
“Pain is not helpful, we must pay attention that it’s not getting worse.
“We must be patient with him and bring the issue away completely so there is nothing and he can train without an injection.”
Not a loss
It is certainly not good news to have one of your players in such pain that he can’t even train without help. You can only wish the former Lille player well as he looks to regain full fitness.
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However, from Hasenhuttl’s point of view, this is not a loss that will damage his efforts to guide the south-coast outfit to survival in the Premier League.
For all his skill and technical ability, he does not contribute enough in terms of goals and assists. In 73 appearances for Southampton, he has just four of the former and five of the latter, which is nowhere near what is expected of him considering he had a combined total of 14 goals and 10 assists in the last two Ligue 1 campaigns before his move to England.
If he were a vocal part of the team’s offence, not much importance would be given to his defensive ability. However, that is not the case, which means more weight is given to it. This year, he has just 0.8 tackles per match and just 0.1 interceptions. That is also way off what would be needed to make up for his lack of goal contribution.
As Southampton stare relegation in the face, the German needs players he can rely on, whether that be because of their ability to perform or their fitness levels, and £9m-valued Boufal – as per Transfermarkt – provides neither. These latest comments are just further proof that Hasenhuttl will need to look elsewhere for his inspiration this term.
In other news, Southampton fans should not expect a lot of money to be spent in January.