Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl has revealed that Sofiane Boufal will miss the clash with Aston Villa this weekend.
Hasenhuttl said, to BBC Solent’s Adam Blackmore, that Boufal has not trained all week since limping off during the 2-1 defeat to Burnley last Saturday with a heel injury.
Boufal is now set to watch on from the sidelines as Southampton host Aston Villa at St. Mary’s.
Twitter: #saintsfc Ralph Hasenhuettl confirms that Kyle Walker-Peters has a calf injury and will miss Saturday’s game v Vill… https://t.co/A2W24Bl22X (@AdamBlackmore)
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With Nathan Redmond also out injured, this could be a huge blow for Southampton’s attack. It means that their two first-choice wingers are out, with Stuart Armstrong and Moussa Djenepo Hasenhuttl’s only other natural options out wide.
Only Jack Stephens has registered more assists than Sofiane Boufal for Southampton this season, who has set up two goals in the Premier League.
Boufal is also ahead of Armstrong and Djenepo in terms of dribbles completed and chances created per game. This means that Southampton could struggle to create as many chances against Villa, with Boufal and Redmond both out.
Armstrong and Djenepo create 0.3 and 0.4 chances per game respectively, compared to Redmond and Boufal’s 1.2 and 0.7.
This illustrates how much Southampton could miss their creative presence at the top end of the pitch.
Hopefully, Djenepo and Armstrong can step up and prove their worth against Villa so that Boufal and Redmond are not hugely missed.
