Ralph Hassenhuttl has given an update on his squad ahead of the meeting with Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday and he has one bit of good news after Theo Walcott returned to training.

Ralph Hasenhuttl has had this to say about his injury list in his press conference ahead of the game against Wolves at St Mary's.

"Walcott is back in training with us now, it will take him a bit of time to get back up to speed, but he is back in training today"

That suggests that Walcott won't be in line for a place in the starting line up, however he could feature from the bench.

Bad news however on the Jack Stephens front an injury reported as meaning he will likely be out till the New Year. Ralph had this to say :

"Jack Stephens is out for long now and this is a pity, he has been an important player for us and it is very disappointing for him and for us that we have lost him now for a while"

"The positive thing is, the knee is okay. But the tendon that leads to the hamstring is disrupted. This will always take long. It is quite serious, this is why we said up to twelve weeks. It will take a long time."

That will leave Saints with just three experienced central defenders and it seems that 19 year old Dynel Simeu may now step up to the first team squad and could feature on the bench against Wolves.

Will Smallbone has been back in the squad for a week or two now and is available for selection, but he is not likely to feature even on the bench yet, Saints have a number of options in the centre of midfield so he will not be rushed back just yet.

Stuart Armstrong is still definitely out and won't be in contention for this game, with no real news as to when he is likely to be back.

This is a strange one in that the Scot was fit enough to be on the bench for the opening game although he did not play, since then he has been missing from the squad and from training and little is being said about the extent of the injury.

Photo: Action Images

underweststand added 11:12 - Sep 26 Theo Walcott's return to fitness may not make headlines as he is unlikely to be first choice as a starter at this time, but the continued absence of Stuart Armstrong is cause for concern. For several weeks past we have had the same blank explanation about his injury, which suggests that it maybe more serious than first thought.. or will surgery be involved? Although we thankfully have adequate replacements available, many would agree that his presence in the side does add a lot to team performances, and we can hope for an early return.

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