Ronald Koeman could miss season opener against Newcastle, says brother Erwin Last Updated: 06/08/15 11:00pm
Ronald Koeman's brother and assistant Erwin confirmed that the Southampton boss may miss season opener against Newcastle through injury. Boasting a three-goal advantage from the first leg against Vitesse Arnhem, the Dutchman masterminded another victory against his former club on Thursday.
Graziano Pelle and Sadio Mane netted in the 2-0 win, taking the third qualifying round tie to 5-0 on aggregate and giving Koeman something to smile about at the end of a painful return to the GelreDome.
The Saints boss ruptured his Achilles in training on the eve of the match, meaning he took to his place on the bench with crutches and his foot in a protective boot.
Assistant manager Erwin Koeman did the post-match media activities as a result and suggested his brother may not be able to travel to Sunday's league opener against Newcastle.
"He knows he has already some problems with his Achilles and if you are involved in a training session then [things] can happen like what happened," Erwin said."Okay, we will hear tomorrow what happened and we will hear tomorrow if he is on Sunday on the bench or not. "Tomorrow morning he goes to hospital and then they will decide what to do."
Fortunately for Saints, Koeman's injury is their only fresh concern heading to St James' Park - thanks in no small part to the fact the second leg often resembled an exhibition match after Pelle's early strike.
"After four minutes, it was a fantastic goal for Graziano and you know then they have to make five and it's almost impossible," Erwin Koeman added. "For us, it was a fantastic start.
"We were happy with the goal because it's all about the result and going on in the Euro League, so for us it was a fantastic start.
"The rest of the game we defended very well. They had some shots outside the 18-yard box, but I think in ball possession we did not play a good game.
"We have to improve more, especially for Sunday. We can do better and we have to do better."
http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11700/9939300/ronald-koeman-could-miss-season-opener-against-newcastle-says-brother-erwin [ 此帖被羅力亞在2015-08-07 10:38重新編輯 ]
