Southampton is still in a fantastic position to try and seal a last-gasp playoff spot in the Championship, despite a slight 1-1 stumble at West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday evening.
Indeed, the South Coast giants are only a couple of points shy of that final coveted playoff spot occupied by Wrexham, even if they had to be bailed out by Cyle Larin at the death at the Hawthorns.
The overall performance would have been a concern, though, as the Saints looked lethargic, and the fixture list continues to look congested for Tonda Eckert and Co.
That hasn’t been helped by Southampton’s spectacular progression in the FA Cup, as a quarter-final showdown with Arsenal arrives on the already overloaded calendar towards the start of April.
The hope will be that the candle isn’t burning at both ends, as a worrying injury situation has now occurred with Leo Scienza.
The exciting Brazilian had to be taken off on the 37th minute mark in the 1-1 draw, as the playoff chasers now wait with bated breath to see how long the explosive 27-year-old will be out of action for.
Hopefully, good news will follow, as Scienza has very much come into his own under Eckert this season, to be a guaranteed starter in attack for the German.
Scienza’s importance at Southampton under Eckert
Six goals and eight assists have come Scienza’s way this season, but doesn’t tell the full story as to how much the 27-year-old has exploded into life under the transformative reign of Eckert.
Amazingly, all but one of those goal contributions has fallen under the 33-year-old’s feel-good stint in charge, with Scienza sticking out as a crucial cog across Southampton’s recent 11-game unbeaten streak in all competitions.
Eight goal contributions in Championship action have fallen into his lap this calendar year, as the 27-year-old has continually linked up with the likes of Finn Azaz to devastating effect.
Losing him for a prolonged period of time could be detrimental to their ongoing promotion hopes, but Southampton doesn’t know the full extent of the damage just yet.
What Eckert has said about Scienza’s injury
It’s not just Scienza’s injury predicament that has left Eckert sweating, as Ross Stewart is also experiencing his own troubles, after scoring Southampton’s only goal in the famous FA Cup win at Fulham.
The Scotsman had to come off at the half-time mark of the 1-1 draw in the West Midlands due to injury difficulties, but thankfully, Larin stepped up to the mark as an impactful second half subsitute to clinch a share of the points.
Noted as having a “little of bit stiffness” by his manager, this sounds very much like a precautionary decision, to ensure the injury-prone striker can feature more down the line.
In stark contrast, Eckert’s words, when discussing Scienza, were tinged with far more concern.
He said:Â “Let’s see. We need to assess over the next few days. It was his groin that he was touching at the very moment.
We need to see how that develops over the next days. We should be able to find a way to scan it tomorrow morning, and then we’ll know what’s going on.
I don’t know how much it makes sense to comment now. The best is to wait for tomorrow morning. Then we’ll have a scan and know what’s going on.”
Southampton might well have to do without the magic of their number 13 for the games that immediately follow the draw at the Hawthorns, as Eckert dips into his entire squad, to try and make the Saints’ promotion dreams come true.
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