The 10 players set to miss Southampton v Blackburn Rovers ft. £3m defender | OneFootball

The latest surrounding team news for Tuesday evening's Championship clash

Southampton's FA Cup quarter-final success over Arsenal was one of the stories of the season, but their focus now is on consolidating their play-off place before their Wembley meeting with Manchester City.

Because of the semi-final, pencilled in on Saturday, 25 April, the Saints' home battle with Blackburn Rovers had to be rescheduled, and the two are set to do battle on Tuesday night.

Back-to-back wins against play-off rivals have extended Tonda Eckert's side's unbeaten run to 17 in all competitions and moved them five points clear of seventh. A win here would see them leapfrog Middlesbrough into fourth, truly establishing themselves as a promotion contender heading into the final weeks of the campaign.

Meanwhile, Blackburn are currently on their longest unbeaten run of the season, having not tasted defeat in their last five games, which has included matchups against both Millwall and Boro, the two sides directly above the Saints.

They could move seven points clear of Oxford United, who occupy the final relegation spot, with an unlikely win. Still, when comparing the two sides' injury lists, the advantage may lie with Southampton.

Here are the 10 players set to miss the clash at St Mary's on Tuesday night.

Alex McCarthy

Tonda Eckert has had the luxury of having the majority of his side fit and firing heading into this congested final month of the campaign. But he is still without a couple of players, including back-up goalkeeper Alex McCarthy, who has been out since February with a wrist injury.

The 36-year-old has made just seven Championship appearances this season, all under Will Still, and likely wouldn't be featuring even if he were fit, due to the excellence of Bayern Munich loanee Daniel Peretz.

Mads Roerslev

The former Brentford man made nine Championship appearances before then, and has had to watch from the sidelines as the Saints transformed from a side battling relegation to one now firmly in the top six - he cost the club £3 million in the summer window after making the move from the Brentford Community Stadium.

Scott Wharton

The 28-year-old Rovers academy graduate was withdrawn at half-time against West Brom on Easter Monday, and missed Saturday's trip to Stoke City.

Wharton had just returned from five months out with an Achilles injury, but this hamstring issue will keep him out for Tuesday night at least.

Sidnei Tavares

In the same report, Michael O'Neill revealed that midfielder Sidnei Tavares will also be absent after pulling up with an issue in training.

The Northern Irish boss did say that the club will assess him over the next couple of days to see whether he'd be an option for the trip to St Mary's, but with Coventry City coming to Ewood Park on Friday night, he may be left out as a precaution.

Ryan Hedges

Ryan Hedges could be in line for a return this Tuesday, having rejoined training last week following a lengthy lay-off with a leg break.

The 30-year-old hasn't been seen since New Year's Day, though, so he could also be one that Blackburn doesn't risk, with their next game coming so soon after.

Onto more long-term issues, Andri Gudjohnsen has been missing for six games now after picking up an ankle injury against Portsmouth last month, with Michael O'Neill stating at the time that it could keep him out "for the foreseeable future",

After getting a scan on that injury, it was revealed that he would miss the remainder of the season.

Having just returned from a hamstring injury a few weeks earlier, it was another frustrating setback for the Icelandic striker, who has scored seven in 25 league games this season.

Lewis Miller

Australian right-back Lewis Miller is also set to miss the rest of the campaign, following an Achilles tendon rupture he suffered back in February against QPR.

The 25-year-old will also miss out on the opportunity to represent his country in this summer's World Cup. He was a main fixture of the Socceroos' qualifying campaign, being capped 20 times since his debut in 2023.

Sondre Tronstad

Tough-tackling midfielder Sondre Tronstad also won't be seen for the rest of the campaign, and for a period to start next season, too, after it was revealed that he'd be undergoing a full ACL reconstruction in March.

The Norwegian's contract at Ewood Park runs out at the end of the season, so questions have been floated around whether Blackburn fans have seen the last of him at their club.

Augustus Kargbo

Augustus Kargbo hasn't been seen in first-team action since he picked up a thigh injury back in October in an injury against Sheffield United. He did make his return to Under-21 football in February but suffered a setback.

Before their draw against Stoke, Michael O'Neill admitted that he had yet to see the 26-year-old train, and couldn't put a time frame on whether he'd be back before the end of the season.

Hayden Carter

And finally, centre-back Hayden Carter will also likely miss the rest of the campaign following an injury picked up against Millwall on March 14, of which Michael O'Neill stated he'll miss "four to six weeks".

It'd be a gutting end to an injury-plagued campaign for the 26-year-old, who has made just 10 Championship appearances this term due to a series of hamstring and calf problems.