Martin on why Lallana and Edwards were withdrawn at Eastleigh

Lallana, 36, had been slated to start Southampton's first pre-season game at the Silverlake Stadium but was replaced by Tyler Dibling just before kick-off.

The former England international was seen walking down the tunnel during the warmups before Saints thrashed National League Eastleigh 7-1 on Friday night.

Edwards, 21, who recently joined from Peterborough in League One, played the first 15 minutes before being replaced by Sam Amo-Ameyaw.

The defender did not return to the field as Martin opted against risking his fitness before Saints travel to Spain for a pre-season training camp.

Ronnie Edwards only played 15 minutes at Eastleigh (Image: Stuart Martin)

READ MORE: Saints pre-season player ratings as they thrash seven past Eastleigh

Explaining the decision, Martin said: "We have a couple of precautionary things with Adam (Lallana) and Ronnie (Edwards). 

"They just feel a little bit tight in this stage of pre-season, which is quite normal.

"I think both could have probably played on fine, but there's just no point in risking it at this stage.

"We'll assess them tomorrow. It's probably the only two negatives (alongside conceding a goal) of the evening, to be honest. We saw some really good stuff."

Southampton face Bordeaux and Montpellier in behind-closed-doors friendlies during their warm-weather training camp in Spain next week.

They then return to England for friendlies against Millwall, Oxford United, Lazio and Getafe.