Smallbone sidelined after playing through the pain barrier

Saints had used all five of their replacements by the 78th minute against the Foxes, by which time they had been reduced to 10 men following the dismissal of Ryan Fraser.

Martin later revealed Smallbone “soldiered on” with an injury that will now keep him out of Saturday’s trip to Manchester City.

The manager is able to call upon Jack Stephens again after the captain served a five-match ban, but Fraser is now suspended instead, while Yukinari Sugawara, who hobbled off against Leicester, is a doubt for the visit to face the Premier League champions.

“Yuki had to come off, so we’re having to manage him a little bit this week. Another 24 hours will depend on if he’s ready to start or not, so we’ll have to make a decision on that,” Martin told the media at his pre-match press conference.

“Will Smallbone is out now for a little bit of time, which is really frustrating and disappointing for us. Ross [Stewart] is also out for a period of time, which is so disappointing for him and for us.”

Martin was also asked about Adam Lallana, who last started a match against Ipswich on September 21st.

“Bournemouth is a different game, Arsenal is a different game, and then he was going to come on the pitch on Saturday and we go down to 10 men, so I don’t think that’s the game for Adam to come on,” Martin reasoned.

“Adam is really involved in the process with us. We have a lot of honest chats and he understands he was brought here to help on the pitch and off it, and he has helped on when he’s been on it.

“But I think at 36 years old we can’t expect him to play every single game. There are certain games where he can really help us, and some where he maybe needs to come off the bench rather than start games, depending on how he feels as well.

“I think he’s a supremely talented player, he’s a really experienced player, and he will definitely help us at some point.”