With all due respect to Ipswich Town, should Adam Lallana be given a little more time to rest before being thrown back into the promotion fray on Tuesday night.

With the official club website hinting that Adam Lallana may return to the starting line up on uesday night, the worry is that he might not be fully recovered from his groin injury and could aggrevate it further meaning that he might miss games in the final run in.

With games coming thick and fast certain players need to be nursed through the final quarter of the season, Adam Lallana is one of those players given that apart from his value to the team, he is also prone to picking up the odd niggle or two, usually nothing major but personally I think that holding him back on the bench might be for the best in the long run given our good home record.

Last season Lallana managed 30 starts plus 5 of the bench out of the 46 games and had several occasions when he was out injured, his substitute appearances especially at the end of the season where usually when he wasnt quite 100% fit but such was his value to the team, he was held in reserve for a gamble at the end it that was needed, whichever way we look at it though he was only fit to start 2/3 of the games he could have been in the starting line up for.

This season has been better in that so far he has started in 29 of the 34 League games we have played so far, however given his injury record we dont want him to agrevate the injury further, better to give his troubled groin as much rest as possible if we can.

The game against Ipswich will not be easy especially given their current form, however we have enough firepower in our locker to perhaps start with Adam on the bench and there in case of an emergency, Im sure Nigel Adkins will be aware that certain players due to the way they play are targets for the opposition to go in hard on, therefore we have to make sure we nurture them though the rest of the season and dont leave ourselves short.

Photo: Action Images

northernsaint added 16:56 - Mar 5 If the club think he's 100% fit he should play. If not he doesn't. Surely that rule must apply to every single player?
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SaintNick50 added 17:47 - Mar 5 I was a little dissapointed with Puchy (his obvious replacement) on Saturday night although I haven't lost faith in him yet. I would give him another try. If not then Guly. Up front Rickie with either Chung or Billy. I think Billy will be getting frustrated if he is left on the bench too much. TOGETHER AS ONE!
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BlackRod added 17:49 - Mar 5 Pointless speculation as none of us have any idea how serious his injury is. All we can do is trust the judgement of the manager and medical staff. He should probably start and be sustituted by Guly when we are 2-0 up
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Dperc added 18:49 - Mar 5 I'm sure Nigel will make a better decision than most managers in this situation with his background as a physio. Don't sweat it.
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tiptop added 18:52 - Mar 5 I guess we just have to trust NA on that one. As you say he was cautiously eased back last season after a niggle that kept him out for 4 or 5 games if I remember rightly. This looks less serious. NA will share our concerns and surely wont risk him unless. Crossing the white line does draw an extra 10% so lets touch wood he is 100%. I think Guly should start on the right with Richardson. Lee or sharp? Gotta be Lee. Sharp will be straining at the leash though.

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1962saint added 21:39 - Mar 5 If fit, he should play. At Ipswich he scored two goals and ran through their defence time and time again. I think it will give the opposition a psychological lift if he's missing. Perhaps then rest him against Barnsley and use the strong squad that Nigel has at his disposal. P.S. Hope for a Pompey win tomorrow!!
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