Southampton boss Ronald Koeman has revealed that striker Jay Rodriguez may require surgery to rectify his ankle injury.
The 26-year-old returned from a ruptured anterior cruciate knee ligament layoff at the start of the season, but he has been absent since mid-October with a separate problem.
Having failed to shake off the injury to his foot, Rodriguez now faces the prospect of a further operation that could potentially keep him out for the vast majority of the campaign.
"Jay is not good," Koeman told reporters. "It's now a long time and we have to make a really tough decision how we treat it. Maybe it will be surgery next week.
"Still his foot is a problem, it gives him a lot of pain. We did everything and now the final call may be surgery next week."
Koeman, who was unable to put a timeframe on Rodriguez's absence should he go under the knife, also confirmed that Virgil van Dijk and Shane Long are fit to feature against Stoke City at the weekend.
Daniel Lewis
