Manager Russell Martin has announced that Southampton will be without goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale and centre-back Jan Bednarek for several weeks. This season, Bednarek has accumulated 981 Premier League minutes, more than any other Southampton player, while Ramsdale is ranked joint-fourth with 810 minutes. Ramsdale’s absence follows his withdrawal from England’s squad last week, one of nine players to do so, due to a finger injury. Bednarek sustained a knee injury concern last Friday, which led to him being forced off the field midway through Poland’s 5-1 loss to Portugal. Notably, Bednarek is the sole player to have started every one of Southampton’s 11 league fixtures this season. Consequently, both individuals will be unavailable for Sunday’s upcoming match against Premier League leaders Liverpool. Manager Martin commented on their absence, stating: “They’ll both be out for this weekend and a number of weeks. They’ve been two of our best players all season. Of course it will affect the team and how it looks but others need to step in and take their opportunity.” These injuries to Ramsdale and Bednarek precede a challenging sequence of matches for the team currently at the bottom of the Premier League table. The Saints are scheduled to play all six of their matches before Christmas against teams presently positioned within the Premier League’s top nine. Additionally, they are set to encounter Liverpool in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup next month. Martin provided further updates on the players’ conditions: “Aaron has had an operation on his finger, he’ll hopefully be back this side of Christmas. Janny B, we spoke really quickly after the game. He was really worried about his knee injury. Thankfully the injury is not as significant as we fear, hopefully [he is back] a week or two before Aaron.” Post navigation Newbury FC Returns to Home Ground After Six-Year Absence Norris Challenges Verstappen’s Claim of Winning Title in McLaren, Suggests “Comedy”