All eyes turn to Wembley on Sunday afternoon as Southampton go up against Leeds United in the Championship play-off final, and Russell Martin has given an update on two Saints attackers.
Leeds secured their place in the final after a 4-0 second-leg win over Norwich City, which has since seen David Wagner sacked as manager of The Canaries less than 24 hours after the loss at Elland Road.
Southampton mirrored Leeds, having drawn 0-0 with West Brom in the first leg at The Hawthorns. The Saints cruised to a 3-1 win over The Baggies, with West Brom scoring a consolation in the 97th minute.
The Saints are renowned for their options in the striker department with Adam Armstrong scoring again on Friday, a neat left-footed drive into the far corner to put Southampton 2-0 up against West Brom.
But Martin will want all of his options available to him, and that includes two other top-quality options up top in the form of Che Adams and Ross Stewart. Adams was missing for the second leg last week.
Stewart was on the bench after playing 30 minutes in the first leg, following a long-term injury. But he was a no-show from the bench against West Brom and Martin has now delivered an update:
Martin delivers update on Southampton duo Adams and Stewart
Of course, a Southampton side that has Scotland star Adams and target man Stewart available is a much more potent force than a Saints side with only Armstrong up top, who has had a hand in 36 goals.
There are rumours thatAdams is on course to complete a move to Wolves on a free transfer and that could be why he is not playing. But Martin told The Echo he expects to have both attackers fit on Sunday.
“He’s [Stewart] fine yeah. He took a whack in the first leg, but he’s taken part in some training and he was only going to be used tonight if we really, really needed him. We are really expecting him to be fully fit.
“And, recovered in time for the final as well. It could be two really big options for us with Che Adams,” Southampton manager Martin said about Stewart and Adams over the weekend, as per The Daily Echo.
What is the injury status of the Leeds United squad before Sunday
Dan James and Connor Roberts are fit and both came off the bench in the second leg to play some part against Norwich, but it was once again too early for Patrick Bamford and the knee injury he picked up.
A knock in the 4-3 win over Middlesbrough has seen Bamford miss the next four games against QPR, Southampton and both Norwich legs. He spoke on his podcast over whether he will return in time to play.
It is unclear if Sam Byram will be fit after missing the second leg, but Pascal Struijk and Stuart Dallas will not be involved at Wembley come Sunday afternoon with Dallas set to retire from professional football.