Will 2,000 Brighton fans be watching the return of Danny Ings and Nathan Redmond on Monday evening at the Amex Stadium, here is what Ralph Hasenuttl has to say about their progress.
Pictures on the Saints website showed both Danny Ings and Nathan Redmond back in training with the rest of the squad, both have been missed, no one would deny that Danny Ings is not first choice, but Ralph will also welcome having the option of Nathan Redmond again, in the last two games Moussa Djenepo has filled in on the left side of midfield and we have struggled in that he is an attacking player but not defensive minded.
That showed against Manchester United and to plug the gap Ralph had to bring Theo Walcott back into that spot but that took away an attacking option.
But with Redmond coming back the manager now has that option and although some might disagree Redmond works well with Ryan Bertrand who found himself exposed in the last two games.
So what are their chance of returning on Monday evening, Ralph had this to say about Danny Ings :
"We must have a look. He trained yesterday for the first time. We must have a look to see how his body reacts but he looked good yesterday, yes."
That is promising news, hopefully Ings with another 4 days between Thursday and the actual game will not have any reactions and will be ready to play some part in the game at Brighton, however I do not expect him to start, I think given he has been out for 5 weeks he will not be match fit so Saints will err on the side of caution and start him on the bench, to be used only if needed.
It also looks good for the return of Nathan Redmond, being a hamstring injury it is easier to know whether he is fit and ready, the fact that he like Ings took part in a full session with physical contact suggests that he too is ready, however like Ings I suspect he will be held in reserve to make sure he is 100%.
Whatever Ralph decides it is good to see them back on the training pitch and with three games coming up in a 10 day period the Austrian will have to use his squad well over this period as well as in the period afterwards, where starting 19th December we will play 4 games in a little over two weeks during the Xmas period ending 2nd January.