Southampton defender's future takes fresh twist as Keven Schlotterbeck injury opens door

Keven Schlotterbeck has slotted in perfectly to the Southampton backline.

He has been everpresent in the Saints starting XI since making his first South Coast appearance during the emphatic 5-1 win over Millwall in late August, with 12 straight 90 minute matches coming his way, before he unfortunately hobbled off with an injury away at Preston North End last time out.

Losing the German is a big blow, with the Daily Echo's Alfie House now confirming how long the ex-Augsburg centre-back will be out for.

House has revealed that £3m summer signing will be absent from Tonda Eckert's first-team plans for at least six weeks.

Schlotterbeck went down with a nasty dislocated shoulder problem away at Deepdale, but if his "recovery goes well" - as House puts it - a couple of weeks could well be shaved off the layoff.

The worry would've been when he collapsed to the floor against the Lilywhites that it would be a really serious injury problem, with a stretcher even being prepared at one point for the in pain 29-year-old.

Instead, while it's not ideal, the Saints can live with the fact that the German colossus is going to be out for a couple of weeks, knowing he should be back for some crucial games to come in the promotion run-in.

Until he's back, though, this gives some fringe players at St. Mary's some great chances to step up, with Zach Abbott ready to be a competent stand-in, having played the majority of the 1-0 loss at Preston, and he didn't look out of place.

There's also a frozen out defender who could now see Schlotterbeck's stay in the treatment room as a way to breathe fresh life into his stagnant Saints career...

Nathan Wood was nowhere to be found when the full team was announced for the trip to Deepdale.

After the match, Eckert noted that the decision to not have the ex-Swansea City defender around whatsoever was purely a "selection" choice, with "internal" talks taking place with the 24-year-old.

Reading between the lines, Wood clearly hadn't been happy about his lack of gametime, with his last outing in the league coming away at Wrexham in September, when Eckert and Co. fell to a late 2-1 loss in Wales.

Since then, he has been rooted to the bench.

But, with the sudden news regarding Schlotterbeck, could he work his way back into Eckert's first-team plans?

He was arguably at fault for Wrexham's cruel late winner, as he didn't close down the fast Red Dragons winger, in the build-up to Schlotterbeck accidentally scoring an own-goal.

Since then, Eckert has relied on Jack Stephens to partner the now injury-stricken number 13, but he can't do that now, meaning he has a toss-up to make between starting the young Abbott, or going with the one-time Middlesbrough defender.

Wood will fancy his chances of reigniting his dwindling St. Mary's career, as he has shone in spurts this season, away from the late loss at the Racecourse Ground.

Every time he has started a home game this season, the Saints have come out on the winning side, with a determined 12 tackles and duels won during 4-1 and 3-1 victories over Bristol City and Swansea City.

Moreover, while Abbott was trusted with a first-team spot against Preston, with Wood nowhere to be found, the pushed to one side number 15 is far more experienced at the level, which might mean he's given the nod to start against Derby County right after the break.

Indeed, he has 113 second-tier appearances under his belt, so don't be surprised if he comes in from the cold against the Rams when Championship action resumes after the break, with his ex-St. Mary's boss Russell Martin once referring to him as a "top defender" for the level.

Now, it's up to Wood to rewrite his South Coast narrative, with Eckert willing to give him another chance, you imagine, as a result of Schlotterbeck's unlucky injury news.