It has been reported that Southampton midfielder Will Smallbone has been forced to withdraw from the Republic of Ireland team due to injury.
Smallbone has been in and around Southampton’s first-team picture for a while now. However, with the Saints’ relegation to the Championship, he is only now enjoying his first run of consistent starts.
The midfielder impressed with Stoke City last season and has managed three goals and an assist in 14 league outings this time around. He netted in the win over West Brom at the weekend too, though he was forced off shortly before the hour mark.
Now, it has been confirmed that as a result of the injury, he’s been forced to withdraw from the Republic of Ireland’s international squad. The Southampton man would have been in line to add to his five caps for the country but he’s had to drop out of the squad.
Wrexham man James McClean comes into the squad. The extent of Smallbone’s injury is not mentioned.
Smallbone has been a regular for Southampton this season so a spell on the sidelines would be a blow for both him and Russell Martin’s team. Time will tell what the extent of the injury is, but on the plus side, he’ll now have the international break to recover.
The Saints have players who can come into the team in his absence too. Carlos Alcaraz can be moved into a central role while Shea Charles and Stuart Armstrong are also natural options in the middle.
Southampton will be hopeful that Smallbone isn’t facing an extended spell out but they can be grateful for the other options in central midfield at least. The Saints return to action against Huddersfield Town after the international fixtures and they’ll be looking to close the gap to the Championship’s top two.
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