St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - August 28, 2021, Southampton's Theo Walcott during the warm up.
Southampton have suffered an early injury blow after Ralph Hasenhuttl confirmed that both Theo Walcott and Nathan Tella have been ruled out of Saturday’s fixture against Tottenham Hotspur.
The Lowdown: Getting down to business
The Saints enjoyed a heavily packed pre-season schedule, picking up one win and two draws in five games, and have been busy in the summer transfer market, with six new signings walking through the doors at St. Mary’s.
The south coast outfit are now looking forward to their Premier League curtain-raiser as they take on Antonio Conte’s Spurs this weekend, but will have to do it without two key attacking players.
The Latest: Hasenhuttl’s injury update
Speaking during his pre-match press conference on Thursday, Hasenhuttl revealed that neither Tella nor Walcott would be involved in the action vs Tottenham. As quoted by Southampton’s official website, he said:
“Theo Walcott has not had pre-season so far. He is not back in training.
“Nathan Tella was also out with injury for a little while, he was training today for the first time so he will also not be available for the weekend.”
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The Verdict: Hoping to kick off with a bang
Walcott not coming into contention isn’t much of a surprise given he’s been consistently linked with a Saints exit for the majority of the window, so him not being involved could suggest that he will more than likely be on his way out before September 1.
Tella, on the other hand, will not be risked unnecessarily given the promising youngster also suffered through some injury issues last term, so they will miss his direct threat on Saturday afternoon.
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Taking on the Lilywhites on the opening day of the season will be no easy task, but with plenty of fresh faces, Hasenhuttl will be hoping that his side can produce a solid performance and pick up all three points in north London without the two wide players.
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