Southampton have endured a very difficult start to the new Premier League season and have suffered another setback ahead of their home game against Leeds United this weekend.
Following their 4-1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, the Saints sit bottom of the Premier League, and rumours of unrest at the club have quickly surfaced.
It has been reported that manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has lost the dressing room, with a number of players surprised that the Austrian was able to keep his job after a shocking end to the 2021/22 campaign.
The former RB Leipzig boss opted to deploy a five-at-the-back formation against Spurs, with Yan Valery a surprising choice at centre-back.
Unfortunately for the Saints, Hasenhuttl's gamble did not pay off as they shipped four goals, meaning they sit bottom of the Premier League ahead of the visit of Leeds United.
The Austrian confirmed in his pre-match conference that Brazilian centre-back Lyanco will miss the game against Jesse Marsch's side, in what is another blow to Southampton's chances.
He said:
“We had only Lyanco during the week not training with the team because he had a problem with his knee.”
Since joining from Torino last summer, the 25-year-old has made 18 appearances for the Saints, and with Hasenhuttl opting for a five-at-the-back, there are likely to be more opportunities for the defender this season.
Hasenhuttl was full of praise for the Brazilian last season after a 1-0 win against Aston Villa last season, saying:
“This guy is a fantastic character.
“You see how he was celebrating his first Premier League game and now again he is happy, you know how much it means to him to play for us.
“This is exactly the kind of player we want in our team.”
However, he will be without the centre-back as the Saints look to turn their fortunes around on Saturday, and not having him available in defence will undoubtedly come as a blow to the Austrian, especially when you consider how defensively poor they were against Spurs.