Southampton Pre-Season Trip: Trio Ruled Out with Injuries

Southampton will head to Germany without Caspar Jander, Finn Azaz and Sam Edozie after the trio were ruled out of the club’s eight-day pre-season trip with minor injuries.

Tonda Eckert has named a 29-man group for the camp in North Rhine-Westphalia, where Saints will face Eintracht Braunschweig and Preuben Munster on either side of an intensive week of training. The three absentees will stay behind at Staplewood to continue treatment.

Jander’s setback came in Southampton’s opening pre-season outing against Eastleigh last Saturday, the midfielder forced off during the friendly. Azaz and Edozie have also picked up knocks, judged not serious but sufficient to keep them off the plane as the squad’s fitness work ramps up.

The German trip offers Eckert a crucial window to sharpen his side before competitive football returns. Sessions in North Rhine-Westphalia will be built around conditioning, tactical detail and minutes in legs, with the two fixtures bookending what is likely to be one of the most demanding weeks of the summer.

Back on the south coast, Jander, Azaz and Edozie will focus on recovery with the club’s medical staff, aiming to be available when the real stakes arrive. The schedule tightens quickly once Saints return: an EFL Cup tie against Colchester United opens their campaign, followed by a Championship curtain-raiser away at Watford.

With the season drawing closer and places up for grabs, the race for full fitness has already started.