Ralph Hasenhuttl reveals how Southampton have kept Danny Ings injury-free after Liverpool move

Danny Ings has been one of the stories of the 2019/20 Premier League season as he has starred at Southampton, scoring 20 league goals.

It’s a far cry from Ings’ time at Liverpool which was blighted by a string of debilitating knee injuries.

Ings did suffer a hamstring injury in the 2018/19 season which kept him out for two months, but he has since turned a corner*.

In his pre-match press conference ahead of the Bournemouth game on Sunday, Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl revealed the measures taking by Saints and Ings himself to end his injury woes*.

“I don’t want to speak about that - only knocking on the table here, please,” Hasenhuttl joked as he was asked about how Ings has overcome his issues with fitness. [H/T HampshireLive]

“We have been sometimes really careful with him, especially at Christmas where there were a lot of games in a short term. We protected him with not playing. But you see now we had massive games and he played every game at 90 minutes and he’s still on fire.

“He still doesn’t show that he gets problems around his body. I think he invests more in his body at the moment. He lives more professionally, maybe.”

Like with other occupations, professionalism increases in tandem with age and experience.

Hasenhuttl believes that Ings now knows when to push himself and when to hold back as he has gained a more accurate read of his body over these past few seasons.

“When you get older, you know what you need for your body and have a better feeling for your body.

“Since the lockdown he came back even stronger. The physical strength part of your game is definitely necessary in the Premier League.

“You see now he plays nearly every game. In the last two games I want him to play.”

*Touch wood.