A number of Southampton fans have been reacting to the latest update from Ralph Hasenhuttl on the injury problems facing Mohammed Salisu at the moment.

The Ghanaian arrived at St Mary’s in the summer for a fee of £10.9m off the back of a very strong season with Real Valladolid in La Liga, where he averaged five clearances, 1.3 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game in his 31 league appearances (Sofascore). That suggests the 21-year-old has plenty of potential to be developed into a commanding centre-back in the Premier League.

However, the defender is yet to make a single appearance for the Saints due to a mixture of the form of others in the squad and a couple of muscle injury problems for him. Hasenhuttl had revealed that the youngster was set to start in the Saints’ FA Cup third round tie against Shrewsbury Town, but it has now emerged that the 21-year-old is sidelined with another injury issue.

Speaking to Hampshire Live about Salisu’s ongoing injury struggles so far this season, Hasenhuttl outlined that he has been suffering from the same consistent injury issue which delayed his inclusion in the Saints’ squad when he first arrived at the club. The manager also suggested that the lack of a pre-season or game-time to build fitness has been an issue.

Hasenhuttl said of Salisu’s injury woes: “The problem was that while he was fit he was sitting on the bench and then for the next sessions (he wasn’t fit). This is a problem that we have a lot of injuries from players who do not play all the time and did not have a pre-season.”

Southampton fans react to Salisu injury update

Many Southampton fans are growing frustrated with the amount of time that Salisu has missed, with some supporters questioning the wisdom of the signing and whether he will ever actually break into the side. One wryly dubbed him “the new Delgado” in an unflattering reference to the Ecuadorian former Saints striker, whose St Mary’s spell was ravaged by injuries.

Others were blaming Hasenhuttl for not giving him game-time in the under-23s to build his fitness over the last month or so.

Do you still think Salisu has a future at St Mary's?

Yes

No