Florin Gardos has made a return to match action by starting this evenings U21 game against Norwich City at Staplewood.

Florin Gardos has got his first game under his belt since being injured in the pre season last summer, starting for Saints U21 side to continue his comeback.

Gardos hasn't featured for Saints first team in well over a year and indeed after a 1-0 defeat at West Brom where he was substituted before the half hour mark he was not selected by Ronald Koeman again last season, even though he was normally on the bench he did not get on as sub in the final three months of the season.

So it is highly unlikely that he will make a return to the first team squad in the final four matches of the season and will continue his rehabilitation during the summer.

Whether he is seen as a long term option for Saints seems to be open for debate, certainly it was rumoured that he was not as fit as Saints would have liked when he arrived as in Romania he had not needed the core fitness needed for the Premier League, whether he can gain that fitness this summer after a year out remains to be seen and it could be that he moves on in the summer.

In the game itself Saints took a 2-0 lead before being pegged back by two Norwich goals, the second after Gardos's departure, but the game exploded into life in injury time as with two of the four minutes gone Josh Sims hit a third for the home side from close range.

But the game was not over and the Canaries hit the post a minute later and from the resulting corner Saints broke and seemed to have played Sam Gallagher through and he finished with aplomb, however the linesman flagged and the goal was disallowed.

However that was virtually the last action and Saints won the game 3-2

Southampton U21s: Paulo Gazzaniga; Dominic Gape (c), Florin Gardos (Ollie Cook 72), Alfie Jones, Matt Targett; Harrison Reed, James Ward-Prowse, Jake Hesketh; Josh Sims, Olufela Olomola (Armani Little 72), Sam Gallagher

Unused substitutes: Harry Lewis (GK), Dan N’Lundulu, Jake Vokins

Photo: Action Images

aceofthebase added 22:21 - Apr 18 Not a bad team but a bit of a waste of a year for most.
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