Newcastle loanee a doubt for Sunderland fixture as Southampton boss makes Liverpool admission

Newcastle loanee Ryan Fraser is a big injury doubt for Southampton's upcoming fixtures - including a meeting with Sunderland.

The Saints were beaten 2-1 by Millwall on Saturday, their third league defeat in four matches, as Fraser was forced off in the 19th minute with a knee injury. The 30-year-old winger has made 30 Championship appearances since joining Southampton on loan from Newcastle in the summer, scoring six goals and providing two assists.

When asked about Fraser's injury, Saints boss Russell Martin told the Daily Echo: "It is a sore one. We will have to assess things. He took a whack on his knee. Wee Man comes off and we lost a lot. We lost a lot of running and threat of assists and goals.

Southampton are preparing for Wednesday's FA Cup match against Liverpool, before a trip to Birmingham in the league. Russell Martin's side then have another midweek game against Preston, before hosting Sunderland at St Mary's on Saturday, March 9. When asked when Fraser could return, Martin replied: "I've not got a clue at the moment how bad it is. He won't be available for the Liverpool game with the way he is. He is on crutches."

Speaking about the upcoming cup game against Liverpool, Martin told BBC Radio Solent: “We could do without that right now if I’m being honest.

“But, we will have 5,000 supporters going there who have been amazing on the road this season. We need to make sure we go there and give a good account of ourselves and make it worthwhile for those people.

“We have worked very hard to get there. We need to make sure it is a good night for us as a club and a group. It is also a chance to take out some frustration from the last couple of games or the last couple of weeks.

“I know everyone will go there frustrated. We need to use that in the right way. I had an interesting conversation with the supporter behind the dugout. He started screaming at me that it was on me. Support the team when it is going a little bit wrong on the pitch. Come and hammer me after the game, no problem. We had a conversation. It is what it is. The support has been amazing.”