Newcastle United player spotted on crutches after defeat as Liverpool decision made - set for summer transfer

Ryan Fraser was forced off with a knee injury during Southampton's 2-1 defeat against Millwall on Saturday afternoon.

The 29-year-old has been in fine form for The Saints during his season-long loan from Newcastle United, scoring eight goals in 32 appearances. But there are now major concerns regarding Fraser's fitness after he was spotted on crutches following the defeat at St Mary's.

Southampton boss Russell Martin said via The Daily Echo after the match: "It is a sore one. We will have to assess things. He took a whack on his knee.

“Wee Man comes off and we lost a lot. We lost a lot of running and threat of assists and goals."

While there is no clear prognosis for how long Fraser will be unavailable for at this stage, Martin was quick to rule the player out of Wednesday night's FA Cup fifth round trip to Liverpool (8pm kick-off).

“I’ve not got a clue at the moment how bad it is," he added. "He won’t be available for the Liverpool game with the way he is. He is on crutches."

Fraser is still contracted to Newcastle United June 2025 but is unlikely to play for the club again after being frozen out under Eddie Howe for the second half of last season. The winger was made to train with Newcastle's Under-21s side before being loaned out to the newly relegated Championship side at the start of the season.

Fraser has spoken publicly about his desire to make his loan move to Southampton permanent at the end of the season with Newcastle also keen to offload the player.