Southampton are confident Che Adams, who has been strongly linked with a summer move to Leeds United, will be involved in the Championship play-off final next weekend. The Scotland international missed both legs of their play-off semi-final versus West Bromwich Albion after picking up a calf problem against the Whites earlier this month.
When asked whether the striker, who is out of contract this summer, will be fit enough to take part at Wembley on May 26 when the Saints go head-to-head with United for a place in the Premier League, Martin replied: “Yeah, he will be, for sure. He will be involved. Whether that’s starting or on the bench, he will definitely, definitely be involved.
“For him, the risk did outweigh the reward in the end because he still felt a little something. Fair play to him, he said he would try. He said ‘If I’m needed, I’ll give you 10 minutes off the bench, 15 minutes or whatever.’ He will be ready in some capacity for the final.”
Read more: Leeds United star Patrick Bamford gives big injury update ahead of play-off final vs Southampton
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Despite being unable to call upon 16-goal forward Adams, Martin’s side proved too strong for WBA. They won 3-1 on aggregate to set up a showdown with United.
Martin has also confirmed that Ross Stewart will come into his thoughts for the showpiece final. Stewart, a big-money capture from Sunderland last summer, has been absent for the majority of the season due to injury.
“He’s fine,” said Martin. “He took a whack in the first leg, but he’s taken part in some training and he was only going to be used tonight if we really, really needed him.
“We are really expecting him to be fully fit and recovered in time for the final as well. It could be two really big options for us.”
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are set to lock horns in a huge clash this month with each fighter attempting to etch their names in boxing history as the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999. The stakes couldn’t be higher as the pair will go head to head for the prestigious WBC, WBA, WBO, and IBF titles.