Martin: Smallbone injury "not long term"
Russell Martin is confident Will Smallbone will not be sidelined for long with the injury that forced him to miss the latter stages of Southampton’s thrilling 4-4 draw with Norwich at St Mary’s.
The midfielder was substituted in the 87th minute with Saints 4-3 down, ten minutes before Adam Armstrong rescued a point with his second penalty of a topsy-turvy contest.
Smallbone has been a key man for Saints so far under Martin, having played a full season in the Sky Bet Championship on loan at Stoke last term.
“It’s coming along nicely,” Martin said of the injury. “It’s not going to be really long term, so we’re not really concerned about it, it’s just going to rule him out of this weekend, and then we’ll take each day as it comes – the oldest cliché in the book but it’s true, especially with an injury.
“He’s recovering really quickly, he’s healing really, really well, and the quicker we can get him back in the better, because he gives us more flexibility, gives us good understanding and he’s been really, really impressive. Hopefully he’ll be part of what we’re doing – we just need to get him fit quickly.”
Smallbone’s absence from Saturday’s trip to Plymouth could see Shea Charles earn a first league start since his summer switch from Man City, prompting Martin to sing the praises of the 19-year-old.
“I just don’t think of Shea as that young because of the way he carries himself,” the manager continued. “He’s really mature, really intelligent. He acts like he’s an old head on young shoulders, so I’ve been really impressed with him.
“I knew we were signing a really, really good player, and just how quickly he learns and takes on information… he came on the other day (against Norwich) and settled the game down for us, really helped us and made it look easy for him.”
Charles featured for half an hour off the bench against Norwich after making his full debut in the Carabao Cup defeat at Gillingham ten days ago.
“Gillingham would’ve been really important for him,” Martin added. “It was a tough night for us as a group, but I think it was really important for him and his learning, and he was one real positive we took out of that, amongst a couple.
“There wasn’t many, but one we took from that was Shea and how much he’ll take from that game and living that moment, because he hasn’t done it yet in a competitive game. He built on that against Norwich and if he needs to play tomorrow, he’ll be more than ready.”
