After our second string lost in the FA Cup to Derby County Ralph will change things for the visit of Everton but who is likely to come back in.

Ralph Hasenhuttl has spoken about who is likely to return against Everton on Saturday and hopefully it will be good news for Saints supporters.

Firstly three players will return from suspension, Pierre Emile Hojbjerg, Charlie Austin and Jan Valery and there is good news on the injury front as well with Danny Ings set to return after training this week with no issues from his hamstring issues.

"We have to find out who are the players who can be physically so strong that they can play again from the beginning, and we have the chance to bring a few new fresh players in, because we have a few suspended players coming back and Danny Ings's injury is gone, so he can train twice this week," said Hasenhüttl.

"He showed that he's a guy who can score important goals for us. He is back after a small hamstring problem and it doesn't seem that he cannot play 90 minutes on Saturday, so we have to think about it. We have a few options and we have to look in what direction it goes."

Hasenhüttl added: “Michael Obafemi is still not in training so he is out. A few guys are in training but are still having pain so we have to be careful not to push them too much to their limits."

“For example, Lemina still has problems with his stomach and I wanted Ryan Bertrand to play yesterday but it was too early for him because he still has pain."

“The good thing is we have players like Sam Galllagher who has come back from his injury and I think he had a good game last night [against Derby]. He showed he can be an option for us in front."

“All the suspended players are coming back like Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Chaz Austin and Yan Valery, who can all play on Saturday which is a good thing. "

“I think we really need fresh players on Saturday because we played 120 minutes, which is tough to go for a lot of them. I can’t make a change or rotate in every position because it is not possible due to the injuries we have, but we will have a look."

"It depends how physically strong every player is and I have a few very strong players and a few who are not so far in their development. That’s why I have to have a good eye on the guys today and tomorrow to see how they feel and how fresh they are.”

So it is good to see that Hasenhuttl has some more options on Saturday, at Leicester the starting XI was strong but the bench was a little under strength, although Ralph is not afraid to play the youngsters he has to get the happy balance and some are a little too raw at the moment and will make mistakes.

Hasenhuttl will also be able to bring some of the players he rested on Wednesday back into the starting line up, Jan Bednarek was badly missed in defence and Nathan Redmond showed in the second half that he is fast becoming indispensable and at the heart of all we create going forward.

Photo: Action Images

cotswoldsaint added 22:11 - Jan 17 'Gallagher had a good game last night'...? Huh? Must have been watching an old Oasis DVD
7

SaintNick added 22:17 - Jan 17 Ralph's methods seem to include building up players to believe they can do it rather than slagging them off, seems to work quite well so far, I dont think Gallagher played very well run a round a lot but with no real end result
2

mikesaint added 22:33 - Jan 17 Sam Gallagher has got no better in the last couple of years and is still not good enough for the Premier League. We need to spend money on a new striker and a centre half.
7

underweststand added 08:40 - Jan 18 Now Ralph has a few more players to choose from now. Takes the pressure off the subs. It has been a good outing for some of the youngsters and a chance to see how they are progressing, but without the experience of the "absentees" our luck won't last forever. "Sam Gallagher" got of lot of admiration on his loan-outs, but there is a world of difference between the Prem." drop zone" and the top end of the Championship and every season we plainly see the difference is "more than ...just 6 league places. If Ralph gives Sam some game time we can see how he can perform at the highest level, if he gets to "make a nuisance of himself " against top defences and can score a few goals maybe he has a future in the Prem...otherwise... maybe he found his real level in the Championship, and a permanent move would be a win-win situation for all concerned.

1

1970 added 09:46 - Jan 18 There is nothing in Sam G's game that will worry premier league defenders, this is just RH bigging the guy up like he did with Stephens why are we waiting for a new CB is it because we need to off load Hoedt, it is costing us game by game and its blatantly obvious to all around what we need, I fear we are not a football club at all just a money making business,
3

Cjay80 added 10:51 - Jan 18 I'm expecting McCarthy, Valery, Target, Bednarek, Vestergaard, Stephens, Romeo, Hoibjerg, Armstrong, Redmond, Ings. Bench of Gunn, Ramsey, Sims, Ward-Prowse, Lemina, Austin, Long See what happens tomorrow
0

Number_58 added 12:20 - Jan 18 I don't think our manager should be ringing the changes, but sending them instead via an encrypted messaging system. With clubs like Dirty Leeds around you can't be too careful.
-1

SaintBrock added 17:39 - Jan 18 We're not in position to ring too many changes, we are hosting Everton for goodness sake and we need 3 pts and we simply will not get them if we pack the side with kids who clearly lack quality and experience. Of course we cannot risk half fit players like Lemina & Bertrand if they are still "feeling" their injuries or is it Mr Gao feeling his wallet that keeps them out of the team? Rumour on the other place has it that Soares is off but we must hope that he starts at RB tomorrow with Targett as the only option on the left. This is Everton and we can't afford inexperienced rookies to cope with some of the tricks their experienced old hands will pull. I think we will lose this one and quite heavily sadly as our old warhorses run out of steam.

1

Blogs 31 bloggers

Macclesfield Town Polls