Weekend Briefing: Ins, outs and injury doubts for this week's matches

Ins out and injury doubts for this week's matches.

Saints suffer Ings setback

Danny Ings has been Southampton's star striker since signing permanently for the club in the summer of 2019 but he faces a four to six-week spell on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on a knee injury.

There is some relief in the Saints camp that Ings's injury is nothing like as serious as the cruciate knee ligament injury which effectively ruined his chances of making an impact over a three-season spell at Liverpool.

But any length of time the 28-year-old spends on the sidelines is a blow given his importance to the side.

Since the start of last season Ings has netted 27 goals in 45 Premier League appearances and he made a triumphant return to the England starting line up last month, scoring in the Three Lions' 3-0 success at home to Wales.

Apart from Ings, Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl must make do without centre-back Jan Bednarek (knock), Ryan Bertrand (unspecified injury) and Ibrahim Diallo (dead leg) who were all injured in last Sunday's 4-3 triumph at Aston Villa.

Rovers rocked by injury crisis

The international break cannot come soon enough for Blackburn manager Tony Mowbray, who is juggling with the absences of several first-team players.

The casualty list grew this week with Derrick Williams (thigh) and Tom Trybull (ribs) suffering injuries in Tuesday's 0-0 draw at home to Middlesbrough.

They are rated major doubts for Saturday's clash with QPR, while Thomas Kaminski, Daniel Ayala (both groin), Bradley Dack, Lewis Travis (both knee), Elliott Bennett (ankle), Stewart Downing (match fitness) and Barry Douglas (self-isolation) are already confirmed absentees.

Bradley Johnson and Amari'i Bell have finished periods of self-isolation and could feature but Mowbray may still be without nine players.

He said: "Since I've been here it's the worst we've looked with the injuries and the players we're without."

Mixed news for Terriers

Huddersfield were short of midfield options for Tuesday's 2-1 loss at home to Bristol City with Alex Pritchard (ankle) and Juninho Bacuna (illness) ruled out of the game.

After the contest Town boss Carlos Corberan revealed that Pritchard's injury would rule him out for three to four weeks but he had better news regarding Bacuna, who he hopes will be available for this weekend's clash at home to Luton.

Summer signing Alex Vallejo is out of quarantine but needs to build up his match fitness before being considered for his debut.

Imps injuries mounting

Successive defeats have seen Lincoln slip from first to fourth in League One and the Imps must tackle tackle tomorrow's FA Cup first-round tie at home to Forest Green with a depleted squad.

Lincoln were well below their best when losing 3-1 at home to Portsmouth on Tuesday and their supporters had to digest more bad news after the game with head coach Michael Appleton confirming that several key men will remain absent for upcoming games.

First -choice centre-backs Joe Walsh (knee) and Lewis Montsma (groin) each face an estimated three to four weeks on the sidelines and a further three-week layoff is anticipated for captain Liam Bridcutt, who has missed the last two games with a thigh complaint.

Left back Max Melbourne (thigh) is back in contention but on-loan West Brom attacker Callum Morton (shoulder) must undergo an operation.

Not got a bet365 account? Sign up today and get up to £100 in bet credits.

Up to £100 in Bet Credits for new customers at bet365. Min deposit £5. Bet Credits available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply.

CLAIM OFFER HERE

MORE FREE BETS

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport

Like us on Facebook RacingPostSport