Ralph Hasenhuttl has given an update on the injury sustained by James Ward Prowse at Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup and revealed he could play against Burnley.

When the physio's rushed to the aid of the stricken James Ward Prowse in the cup replay at Spurs, Saints fans feared the worse, it turned out to be a deep gash on the knee, but that in itself is a difficult place for a cut to heal, but it seems that JWP is quick on the recovery.

Ralph Hasenhuttl said:

“Today was his first day out on the pitch and we tried to keep him out there for as long as possible.

“Players always like to come back on the pitch and he has handled it well, but we must pay attention to make sure the cut is not going to open again.

“I think it looks good that, hopefully, he can play at the weekend.

“We don’t want it to get worse so that he is out. We must pay attention to it."

“It looks good and he is an important player for our team. We have a few more options which means he can go back to his No 6 position."

“We have Kyle back who can play for the first time and Yan Valery is back.

“The squad is very balanced at the moment and we have two players in every position.

“This doesn’t make it easy for me, but the players can see we are balanced.”

Although Ralph seems optimistic that JWP can play on Saturday, he is also a master of subterfuge and giving the opposition a bit of false information, I would be surprised if Saints risked Ward Prowse against Burnley knowing how long these type of cuts take before they are 100% ready given that on the knee joint they can easily bend and split and it is not like a gash on the shin that can be covered up and is only subject to a direct impact troubling it.

But I haven't seen James's injury and how well it has healed so I can't comment with any real insight, but I do think that at best he could be on the bench and held back in case of emergencies, with Burnley being an especially combative side It would nbot surprise me for Oriol Romeu to get the nod and JWP be saved for another week to ensure the injury is properly healed.

Photo: Action Images

Boris1977 added 07:25 - Feb 14 Square pegs round holes. If prowse is fit play him in midfield i.e. his position. We have shipped one right back out and bought one in. It's a no brainer. If peters proves to be less affective at right back than prowse the board will have dropped a bollock. We lose prowse's ball holding and creativity in midfield when he plays RB. PTS on the board are more important than showing we can play 'total football'.

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underweststand added 10:09 - Feb 14 There's no doubt that JWP has shown up well of late and Ralph's encouragement for him to "get ugly" has shown that he has caste off his "Mr.Nice Guy" role and can get stuck in. Although his emergency RB role sounds a bit unusual it shows he has versatility in his game, and many recall he had Zaha " in his pocket" in the Palace game - yet still DAJFU. I notice his perennial critics are "hiding in the other room" at present, just waiting for his next "off day", but overall I'd say he's playing some of his best football just now. I still like to see him in the attacking midfield role, and the thought that we could see him and Armstrong together as a reular midfield pairing is yet to materialise. if Prowsie returns, we need to see him in midfield and get either KWP or Valery vying for the RB position and hope one of them get established before the end of the season.

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