Southampton’s Jay Rodriguez is facing another extended spell on the sidelines as he requires surgery on his foot.
The 26-year-old forward came back into the side at the start of the season after spending more than a year recovering from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament but has not played since the 2-2 draw with Leicester City in October.
The Southampton anager Ronald Koeman admitted before the weekend that Rodriguez could require surgery to fix his latest injury, which is believed to relate to a nerve in his foot. Sources close to the player have confirmed that the former Burnley striker will have surgery on Tuesday and is now facing up to eight weeks out.
Meanwhile, Shane Long has admitted he was disappointed to see his side’s eight match unbeaten run come to an end against Stoke on Saturday.
“We all gave the effort, but it just didn’t happen for us somehow,” Long said. “We’re back in training next week. We’ll look forward to Man City. We’ve then got three games in a week with Liverpool and Villa after that. We’ll get back on track. We’ll have a good training week and I’m sure the gaffer will have us well prepared for three big games.”
