William Smallbone Southampton
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Ralph Hasenhuttl says it ‘Not easy’ choice to sanction Will Smallbone loan exit #SAINTSFC

August 9, 2022
RALPH Hasenhuttl will be pleased to see Will Smallbone making an instant impact on loan at Stoke City, revealing “it was not so easy” to sanction his exit this summer. The 22-year-old Saints academy graduate has hit the ground running in the Championship, winning man-of-the-match in his first start for the Potters. Smallbone, who played 84 minutes of his side’s 2-0 victory over Blackpool on Saturday, has suffered a stop-start Saints career due to injuries over the last two years. He looks to record a fully fit season for the first time since making his debut under Hasenhuttl in 2020, and will hopefully feature heavily in a 46-match league season. The Republic of Ireland under-21s star was one of Hasenhuttl’s top performers during the pre-season tour of Austria, before his move to Stoke was confirmed on July 23. “I hope to see him playing a lot,” Hasenhuttl told the Daily Echo, asked what he wants to see from the Basingstoke-born midfielder. “To be honest, it was not so easy to say ‘you can go’. “He had a good pre-season and especially in this shape on the eight, he was a player who showed his qualities – so it was really not so easy to say ‘okay, we will let you go’. “But it is still tough to get a chance to play here, there are some good players waiting to play on this position so it is not so easy for him.” Summer addition Romeo Lavia, just 18 years old but one of Saints’ best players in their Premier League opener, already adds depth to stalwarts Oriol Romeu and James Ward-Prowse, as well as £12million Frenchman Ibrahima Diallo. After making just four Premier League appearances last season, following his recovery from an ACL injury, the decision was made to allow Smallbone the opportunity to find regular minutes. The youngster is well liked and has some of the best ball-playing abilities in the group, but a Championship season could help him bulk and prepare for the task of a Premier League breakthrough. “For young players especially, it is important to get some game-time, and that’s why we agreed to the loan,” Hasenhuttl added, while Saints typically reserve a January recall option on their loans. At the weekend, Smallbone said: “I loved it out there. I wanted to come out on loan and play some games, and I had the opportunity to do that (Saturday), and it was fantastic.” “I am so grateful to the manager and the club for giving me this opportunity and naturally I want to make the most of this and repay their faith in me. “This is a great group of lads and it has been so easy for me to settle in here – I felt really comfortable out there, I enjoyed it but there is a lot more to come.” Smallbone could be in action again for Stoke tonight when they travel to League One Morecambe, in the first round of the EFL Cup. There, he could face fellow Saints loanee Caleb Watts. A message from the Editor Thank you for reading this article - we appreciate your support in reading the Daily Echo. Subscribing to the Echo means you have unrestricted access to the latest news, features and Saints coverage - all with an advertising-light website. You will also have full access to Saintsplus, your new home for Southampton FC tactical analysis, features and much, much more. Don't take my word for it - subscribe here to see for yourself. Follow the latest breaking news in the Southampton area by joining our Facebook group - Southampton News - Breaking News and Incidents Follow the latest court and crime news on our dedicated Facebook group - Hampshire Court and Crime News
William Smallbone Southampton
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- James Ward-Prowse reveals excitement on return of Will Smallbone after tough time #SAINTSFC

December 20, 2021
CAPTAIN James Ward-Prowse declared himself "absolutely delighted" to see Will Smallbone back in Premier League action, admitting: "He went through such a tough time." Smallbone, who rose up through Saints' academy, made his first top-flight start in 11 months in Wednesday night's contest at Crystal Palace. The 21-year-old, whose only other appearance this season came in the EFL Cup at Chelsea in October, spent a lengthy spell on the sidelines after rupturing his ACL in a game at Leicester in January. In a recent interview, Smallbone explained how his time away from the game also saw him dealing with a separate issue, as he lost all his hair due to alopecia. The Republic of Ireland international has now recovered from his serious knee problem and featured for 70 minutes in an advanced midfield role in the 2-2 draw at Selhurst Park. Discussing the return of his teammate, Ward-Prowse told the Daily Echo: "It's huge. I’m absolutely delighted for Will because he went through such a tough time with his injury. "It's great to see him back. I’ve seen first-hand the journey he’s been on and the effort he’s put in to get where he is. "He’s very similar to me in the way his journey has gone, playing in different positions and stuff like that so it’s great to see where he’s gone and we will be there to facilitate it." Asked for his assessment of Smallbone's performance against Crystal Palace, boss Ralph Hasenhuttl added: "It is absolutely amazing what he did. "I am very happy for him because after such a long time, I must say I have worked very good with him. "He is fitter than before. He was coming back after one year very, very solid fitness with a good drive on the pitch. "The last two weeks in training you couldn't deny that he is one of the best on the pitch and you have to give him a chance. "It is also a signal for all the other players that are not playing at the moment. "They see what you can do when you work hard, when you train well, everybody gets a chance and this is what they have to do. Every day, not only once. "Then you deserve to play. This is what he did and I think he did it okay." Saints are next due in action at West Ham United on Boxing Day (3pm).
William Smallbone Southampton
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Ralph Hasenhuttl admits Southampton player Will Smallbone earned a ‘deserved chance’ #SAINTSFC

December 16, 2021
WILL Smallbone “deserves to have this chance” says Ralph Hasenhuttl, after the 21-year-old made his first Premier League appearance since suffering an ACL injury in January. The Basingstoke-born midfielder performed well in a cameo appearance during the EFL Cup tie with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge six weeks ago, but has had to wait patiently as he continues his scaling to full fitness. Smallbone had made the bench for each of the last five fixtures but was yet to be called upon by Hasenhuttl. And although he still looked off the pace at times – as expected, having been 11 months since his last league start – his potentially quality on the ball showed with a free-kick delivery that found Armando Broja early in the first-half. With a shortage of forwards as Stuart Armstrong and Adam Armstrong remained on the sidelines, the Saints boss insists that the opportunity had been earned through hard work at Staplewood Campus. “I was brave to let him start today,” Hasenhuttl said, speaking after the 2-2 draw. “I think he deserves to have this chance as what I have seen in the last few weeks is good. Constantly working hard in the sessions, constantly showing up in the sessions. “That gives me a good feeling for giving such a young lad a chance to play and I must say as well I see the energy to run and fight, it was good. “You can see at the end he was a little bit running out of energy and you have to sub him but it was a good performance today.”
William Smallbone Southampton
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Southampton midfielder Will Smallbone admits shock after losing all hair #SAINTSFC

December 8, 2021
SAINTS midfielder Will Smallbone has opened up on a tough year, which saw him both battling a serious knee injury as well as losing all his hair. The 21-year-old had just fought his way back into Saints' starting XI, when disaster struck in January 2021. The young midfielder ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament during a Premier League contest at Leicester City. Despite initially attempting to play on, Smallbone was forced off just past the hour mark at King Power Stadium and would not return to the pitch for Saints for nine months. "It's never a good time to rupture your ACL," Smallbone said in an interview with Saints' matchday programme. "But especially for me, I'd got back in the team after a few quad injuries and then on my first start (in four months), to do my ACL is not ideal. It was very tough. "Even when the injury happened, I still didn't think it was as bad as it ended up being. I carried on playing. "To get the scan results the following day, straight away you're thinking that's six to nine months that I can't play football. "It's such a hard thing to hear. On such a high the day before, to then be told that information was such a low the day after. Everything changes." He continued: "After the surgery, for six weeks I couldn't do anything for myself. Luckily my mum came down and lived with me, which she was buzzing about! "I had her and my girlfriend to help me. They were both great in those tough times." As Smallbone battled with the reality he would not be playing football again for a significant period of time, another hurdle presented itself. The Republic of Ireland under-21 international explained: "Alopecia is something I've had to deal with alongside my injury. "I first had a really small patch of hair missing, no-one would ever really notice. It was the Leicester game, where in a few photos you could see a bigger patch appearing. "Now it's actually growing back, but to lose it all is very tough. "Alongside such a big injury, it probably couldn't have happened at a worse time for me personally, to have both of these things going on. "The doctors can't say if they are linked. "Because of the injury and the stress of being out for so long, they can't say if that caused it, but the timings line up. It would make sense for them to coincide. "Mine was a gradual, steady increase of how bad it was. It started off as a really small patch of hair I was missing, which slowly grew and then eventually just started falling out from all sides. "The doctor's advice was just to shave it because eventually it was going to get to that anyway." He continued: "When it first happened, it's a tough thing to deal with. "But at the end of the day, it's just hair. I suppose I'm in a situation where I'm playing on TV and there's kids watching, who made have to deal with the same thing. "It's to show that it isn't the end of the world. "Sometimes, in life, you have to get on with difficult things that are thrown at you. "The best thing people did was try not to treat me any differently or act like too much had changed. The best thing everyone did was to act normal around me. "Obviously now everyone can make jokes, because I've come to terms with it. But no-one ever made me feel like it was weird, or something to be ashamed of. "You just have to embrace it. Obviously in life things are going to happen that you have no control over. In an ideal world, I would not have lost my hair, and no-one would lose their hair to alopecia. But the best thing you can do is take it in your stride. "I'd be lying if I said I was always positive about my situation. It was such a shock. To go from having a full head of hair to having none in such a short space of time was quite a big thing to deal with. "There were many down days, especially at the start. It's such a personal thing. "You speak to people about it, but they don't necessarily understand it because it hasn't happened to them. "I had such good support around me - my family and at the club - to just get on with it and use it as the next challenge to overcome." Smallbone, who made his first-team return in the Carabao Cup clash at Chelsea in October, could feature when Saints head to Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday (3pm), having been an unused substitute for the past four fixtures.