Ward-Prowse injury ´not that bad´, says Southampton boss Hasenhuttl

Ralph Hasenhuttl revealed the injury suffered by James Ward-Prowse was “not that bad” after the midfielder was carried off on a stretcher during Southampton’s FA Cup defeat to Tottenham.

Ward-Prowse hurt his knee in the first half of Wednesday’s fourth-round replay when attempting to block Ryan Sessegnon’s clearance.

There were fears the England international, who was given oxygen while undergoing treatment on the field, may have sustained serious damage, but Hasenhuttl had positive news on the midfielder after the game.

“I think it is not that bad,” the Southampton told BBC Sport. “I think it is only a cut on the knee. That is a positive message for me.

“It’s a deep cut on the knee and you could see the bone. It will take a bit of time to heal but if it was a ligament injury it would be more of a problem for us.”

Get well soon, @Prowsey16  pic.twitter.com/C8HuTwFdmL

— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) February 5, 2020

Strikes from Shane Long and Danny Ings gave Southampton a 2-1 lead with 72 minutes played, the visitors having fallen behind in the first half following an unfortunate own goal by Jack Stephens.

But a Lucas Moura equaliser and a late penalty from Son Heung-min sent Tottenham – who boss Jose Mourinho admitted were second best during the game – through to the fifth round of the competition.

“The last 15 minutes we didn’t defend like we had to,” Hasenhuttl said after the 3-2 loss. “It doesn’t count – we had 30 minutes of the second half perfect.

“We were not defending like we wanted to for the second goal and the third goal was too easy, they ran through our midfield like there was nobody [there].

“In the FA Cup it is not about being the better team – it is a game of results and [Mourinho] got the result and we didn’t. After a very busy period we now have time to recover.”