Southampton midfielder Victor Wanyama suffered a hamstring injury in Wednesday’s FA Cup victory over Ipswich, much to the frustration of manager Ronald Koeman.
Championship side Ipswich, who are chasing promotion, held Southampton to a 1-1 draw in the previous game at St Mary’s, leading to a replay at Portman Road. Southampton got the win thanks to a Shane Long strike after just 19 minutes.
Koeman’s side will now face Crystal Palace in the next round, and although they will be pleased to progress in a competition that Koeman admitted is “not the most important thing” for them, the victory came at a price when Kenyan midfielder Victor Wanyama suffered a pulled hamstring just before half-time.
“It is really negative because already we have some other injuries,” Koeman said. “I already spoke before the game with Victor and Steven Davis as I had made the decision to give both players 45 minutes.
“Then 12 seconds before half-time, he got his hamstring injury and, OK, you know if it is really a hamstring injury then he will be out for four or five weeks.”
Wanyama joins six other first-team regulars on the sidelines, making Southamptons push for a top four finish even tougher. Although the season is taking its toll on his squad, Koeman is confident of filling the gaps left by injuries to players like Morgan Schneiderlin and Toby Alderweireld, and was pleased with his team’s performance in picking up another win
“I don’t regret playing him,” Koeman continued. “He had some calf problems out of the game against Man United, but he trained yesterday. OK, we know we have a tough programme and we don’t have a big squad to resolve that kind of problem with injuries.
“Schneiderlin has a little bit the same as he had when he came back from the French national team. It is an adductor problem in his right leg and he will be out for three or four weeks, like Toby Alderweireld, but we have a lot of young players.”
“I think it was a very serious performance tonight. It was lucky we scored out of the first chance we got in the game. After that, we defended well, had good organisation in the team. I think we had some good opportunities in the second half in the first 10 or 15 minutes to create something out of that counter-attacking.
“But I am proud of the team, the players and how we showed our character today. It was difficult, it was a typical English cup game: long balls, battles, but a great performance from the lads and that is very positive.”
Southampton play their next Premier League game away to Newcastle before focus shifts back to the cup with a fourth round tie against Crystal Palace.