According to Phil Kirkbride of the Liverpool Echo, Seamus Coleman could miss Sunday’s trip to Southampton due to injury. The 32-year-old damaged his hamstring in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool and was withdrawn after 30 minutes. Liverpool Echo say Coleman may be absent over the weekend but don’t know when he could return.
Will we miss Coleman?
Yes. Coleman has made 6/8 appearances in all competitions for us this season, captaining the side on five occasions and notching one assist. As per WhoScored, the Republican of Ireland international has made five Premier League appearances and amassed 359 minutes of top-flight football.
He’s created two chances, completed 88.9% of his 190 passes, whipped in seven crosses, made 6/9 successful dribbles (66.66%), had two shots with 100% accuracy, blocked eight crosses/passes/shots, made 10 clearances, averaged only one foul every 180 minutes, averaged a tackle (10) or interception (4) every 25.6 minutes and has been dribbled past only once.
Coleman’s future looked uncertain when we were scouring the transfer market for a right-back, but he’s silenced his critics. We still need a long-term replacement for the 32-year-old, but there’s still life in the old legs yet. Coleman has two years remaining on his deal at Goodison Park and should see it out as things stand.
Who can replace him?
In Coleman’s absence, Jonjoe Kenny would have been an option at right-back, but he’s still out of action with an ankle injury. Ben Godfrey replaced Coleman against Liverpool, however, so he may be called upon to face Southampton.
Only Aston Villa (2) and Arsenal (6) have a better defensive record than us (7) in the league, so we should be able to contain Southampton without our club captain.
Summary
It’s funny to think we had Santiago Arias, Colin Dagba, Emerson, Jesus Corona, Ola Aina, Bouna Sarr and Diogo Dalot on our radar as Coleman was in line to be dropped, but he’s made the spot his own this season.
Kenny had a chance of replacing the Irishman at right-back too, but he’s injured and now unable to prove his worth. Time for Godfrey to make his full debut?
In other news, Real Madrid are ‘preparing’ a €40m bid for Dominic Calvert-Lewin