Southampton boss Russell Martin reveals double defensive injury blow ahead of Liverpool test

Southampton boss Russell Martin has confirmed that both Aaron Ramsdale and Jan Bednarek will be sidelined for "a number of weeks".

News of a double injury blow for the Saints arrives just days before their hosting of league leaders Liverpool at St Mary's on Sunday afternoon.

Southampton have struggled massively since securing an immediate return to the top flight last season from the Championship, with Martin's men currently rock bottom of the Premier League table.

The South-coast club recorded their maiden victory of the league campaign on November 2 by beating Everton at home, before losing 2-0 away at relegation rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers.

After collecting just four points from their opening 11 matches, Southampton are in danger of being cut adrift at the foot of the table, four points behind Ipswich Town in 17th.

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Southampton suffer Ramsdale, Bednarek blows

Speaking ahead of Southampton welcoming of title chasers Liverpool on Sunday, head coach Martin provided a disappointing update on the fitness of Ramsdale and Bednarek.

"They will both be out for this weekend and a number of weeks. They have been two of our best players all season. Of course it will affect the team and how it looks but others need to step in and take their opportunity," said Saints boss Martin.

"Aaron [Ramsdale] has had an operation on his finger, he will hopefully be back this side of Christmas. Janny B [Bednarek], we spoke really quickly... He was really worried about his knee injury.

"Thankfully the injury is not as significant as we fear, hopefully [he is back] a week or two before Aaron."

As mentioned by Martin, goalkeeper Ramsdale has already taken steps to resolve his finger injury, undergoing an operation during the international break after withdrawing from Lee Carsley's England squad.

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Bednarek's influence

Playing 981 minutes of the Premier League football for Southampton so far in 2024-25, no player has featured more prominently for the club than Bednarek this season.

The 28-year-old is also the only Saints player to have started each of his side's 11 top-flight matches, highlighting his importance to Martin's plans.

Bednarek was forced off during the half-time interval in the UEFA Nations League last Friday night, when Poland were smashed 5-1 by Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in Porto.