An injury setback to an important Southampton player acts as a “huge blow” for the club, according to pundit Carlton Palmer.
Ross Stewart’s struggles at Southampton
The Saints look well-placed for a promotion push in the Championship this season, sitting fourth in the table and eight points adrift of the automatic places. They have had to make do without summer signing Ross Stewart for almost the entire campaign to date, however, with the 27-year-old suffering a miserable time with injuries, being limited to just two substitute appearances in the league that have totalled only 17 minutes.
There were such high hopes for Stewart when he joined Southampton from Sunderland during the transfer window, following an excellent spell for the Black Cats, but it hasn’t worked out at all yet. The fact that he arrived with an injury did make it a risk, though.
Now, the Saints attacker has suffered another injury blow, however, with a two-month spell on the sidelines expected after picking up an issue against Huddersfield Town late last month, with the player seeing a specialist.
Ross Stewart injury a “huge blow”
Speaking to Football League World, Palmer reacted to this latest injury setback regarding Stewart, admitting it is a “huge blow” for both the player and Russell Martin.
“It’s bad news, really bad news for Southampton with the latest injury to Ross Stewart. “I always thought this was a gamble, it wasn’t just a hamstring injury or something like that, it was an Achilles tendon injury. He was going to be on the sidelines for some considerable time.
“I know they jumped the gun because they believed other clubs would be looking for his signature, but I don’t think anyone would have signed him until he had proven his fitness. Achilles injuries are very hard to recover from, and hopefully Ross will come back from them, but they’re long-term.
“So, it was a huge blow for the manager, after the club spent £10m on signing Stewart, and he may need to go to the board and convince them to give him money to buy another striker. They’re going very well in the Championship, they’ve got a real chance of automatic promotion. Hopefully, the board will understand, they obviously took a gamble, and it hasn’t worked out. A huge blow for Ross, and for Southampton.”
This is such a cruel blow for Stewart, who will be desperate to prove his worth in a Southampton shirt and play a key role in their promotion push this season.
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This Southampton flop could be given another opportunity to impress on his return to St Mary’s next year.
Having got himself back fit again, the former Sunderland ace will now have to show plenty of mental resolve in his latest recovery, hopefully returning for the business end of the season and making some big contributions.
Away from Stewart’s personal setback, it is also clearly a big issue for Martin, who will have to make do without a big-name attacker for an extended period once again. Having him available could make life so much easier for the manager, in terms of rotation at a busy time during the festive period, but the Saints will again have to get by with the current available players.
