Southampton manager Russell Martin has issued an encouraging update on the fitness of Ryan Fraser ahead of their clash against Preston North End tonight.
After watching all three of their promotion rivals secure victories last night, the pressure is on Southampton to deliver against an in-form Preston North End side at St Mary’s.
Leicester City and Leeds United both beat Sunderland and Stoke City by a 1-0 scoreline respectively while Ipswich Town came back from 2-1 down to beat Bristol City 3-2 in the 89th minute.
It means the gap between Southampton and the automatic promotion places is now eight points following three defeats in their last five games.
Two of those came at home against Hull City and Millwall, with Russell Martin still feeling furious about one decision he made in the latter loss.
Ahead of their clash against Preston tonight, who are unbeaten in their last seven Championship matches, Martin revealed that Kyle Walker-Peters was back on the grass and also dropped an encouraging update on winger Ryan Fraser.
Russell Martin gives Ryan Fraser injury update
Fraser was expected to be out for a month after picking up a knee injury in the defeat to Millwall at the end of February.
The 30-year-old has been a key player for the Saints after joining on loan from Newcastle United in the summer having scored eight goals and supplied three assists in 32 appearances – the third most goal contributions in the Southampton squad behind only Che Adams and Adam Armstrong.
Fraser has subsequently missed the FA Cup defeat to Liverpool and the dramatic win over Birmingham City but now Martin has revealed positive news on when he could return to the side.
“With the Leicester game being delayed until later in the season it suits Ryan Fraser because it means he will miss one game less,” Martin told the Daily Echo.
“We expect him or we are hopeful he will be back for the Middlesbrough game after that, all being well. If he’s not, it won’t be too long after that.
A timely boost in the promotion race
Fraser has missed more games since picking up an injury (2) than he did across the entire season (1).
The only match that the Scottish international was absent for was the 1-0 victory over Bristol City in November, although he has only started in 10 of Southampton’s 30 Championship matches.
Martin has called upon Fraser regularly as a quality option and he’s proven to be a super sub having scored four of his eight goals after being introduced from the bench.
Of course, with the amount of class at Martin’s disposal, he has opted to use every tool in his box in the quest for promotion.
And if Fraser is back for their clash against Ipswich Town at the start of April, his return to action would be a timely one, especially from the bench.