New Orleans Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins believes that teammate Kenny Vaccaro's ankle injury is a massive blow for his side's defense.

Vaccaro sustained a broken ankle in his side's defeat to the Carolina Panthers and is already out of their final game of the regular season on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Jenkins told The Times-Picayune: "That's a tough loss to us. He's definitely a big part of what we do on defense, but we've got guys that fill in, and anytime someone's gotten injured this year, we've had guys fill in a play well.

"So I think we'll be all right. But he obviously produces a lot on our defense, but we'll move guys around and bring guys in who I'm sure will do a great job."

The Saints need to beat the Buccaneers on Sunday to secure their place in the post-season.