Roméo Lavia and Tino Livramento remain Southampton’s only absentees for Friday’s trip to Aston Villa in the Premier League.
The game comes 13 days after Saints’ previous match, with last week’s meeting against Brentford postponed following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Manager Ralph Hasenhüttl believes the time has been spent wisely, as he prepares his team for the last game before the international break.
“So far we had everybody in the training apart from Livramento and Roméo, they are still out. The rest are training with the team.
“I think we had a good week with using the time after the last game. It was a little bit strange because we prepared for an opponent, then we prepared for the next opponent without seeing if it worked or not.
“We can use a few things, in set-pieces and in open game, for this game. This was the challenge in the last days, and we had good sessions with a team that is really working hard, and hopefully we are prepared for tomorrow.”
ralph hasenhüttl
it looks good. without being too euphoric i think we are on a good time schedule with him and a return to the team.
on tino livramento's return from injury
On Lavia, Hasenhüttl believes the 18-year-old can use the time on the sidelines to learn more about his body and strengthen his resistance to injury.
“It’s tough for him, you can see it’s not easy, because it feels like a full break after a very, very good start,” he said.
“This setback is always a chance – especially for players who are coming in here – to scan your body, scan your deficits you have, and work on this in this time you are out now. This is always the chance.
“I often speak it, a lot of players using this time for coming back even stronger, physically especially.
“He has shown he can play good football, I think he has shown this in the five games he was playing, but now he has to adapt his body to get better prepared for this tough league. This is a good chance for him and I’m sure he will grab it.”
Livramento, meanwhile, is back on the grass in individual training after five months out with a knee injury.
“It looks good,” the boss added. “Without being too euphoric I think we are on a good time schedule with him and a return to the team, so everything looks quite good at the moment.”
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