Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale returned to action against Fulham on Sunday (Image: GETTY)
shot-stopper wore a bespoke goalkeeper glove on his left hand on Sunday that included only three finger slots and one for his thumb. The England international was forced to make the alteration ahead of his team’s trip to after recovering from a broken finger.
Ramsdale returned to action in west London after missing Southampton’s previous five matches and kept a clean sheet as the match ended in a 0-0 draw.
The injury occurred during the first half of the Saints’ 2-0 defeat to Wolves in November, with the ace completing the full 90 minutes before facing a spell on the sidelines.
Ramsdale lined up in the Southampton goal in the place of Alex McCarthy, who had deputised for the former star in recent weeks.
The two middle finger slots on his left glove had been adapted to one wider finger slot to accommodate for his injury. And it proved to be a talking point among eagle-eyed viewers.
Ramsdale continued to train at Southampton’s Staplewood base throughout his injury absence but faced an altered schedule as he allowed his finger time to recover.
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Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale wore an adapted glove on his left hand against Fulham (Image: GETTY)
And discussing the injury issue during an interview with ahead of Southampton’s last weekend, the 26-year-old explained: “The finger is getting more bendy, it’s getting there. It was too soon [to return] for this game.
“I’m looking forward to next week. We have two games that I’m hoping to be involved in. It’s about making sure it’s fixed properly. Making sure it doesn’t get injured again is the main priority.”
Ramsdale was also forced to pull out of Lee Carsley’s final England squad last month due to the problem.
And he added: “I missed out on the first two camps, I was desperate to get back into that set-up and to miss it with an injury – my first real injury of missing games – has been very tough, especially watching the boys and coming down here [at Southampton] to try and impact the team on the pitch. It’s been a difficult transition.
“Especially when I’ve been able to train with the boys, using my feet, and still being out on the grass but ultimately not being able to do my job as a goalkeeper.”
He then explained: “The lads are top drawer. We’ve got a great spine and a lot of them have been together and have played this way all of last year and have had great results. We have not lost faith in anything. It’s about the fine details. We have been unlucky in certain games.”