Southampton's battle for Premier League survival has been dealt a blow with the news top goalscorer Danny Ings could be out for up to three weeks after he suffered a hamstring injury.
Ings' career has been blighted by knee injuries in recent seasons but after returning to full fitness he made a promising start to his spell with Southampton.
The Liverpool loanee scored seven goals in the first half of the 2018-19 campaign despite being sidelined for a month in mid-November due to a hamstring problem.
Having returned to full fitness over Christmas, the striker suffered another injury setback during last weekend's 1-1 draw with Burnley at Turf Moor.
Ings was withdrawn after 27 minutes and tests have confirmed a slight hamstring issue, which head coach Ralph Hasenhuttl says could keep him sidelined into March.
27: #SaintsFC are forced into an early change, with @IngsDanny having picked up a knock. [0-0] pic.twitter.com/e4IYBmbPSK
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) February 2, 2019
"Danny made a big step towards the ball last week and felt a problem in his hamstring," he told a media conference ahead of this weekend's clash with Cardiff City.
"It'll take him two or three weeks to come back from that.
"We'll miss him for sure. He's a good player for us and I need him fit. For the moment, we know that'll take two or three weeks recovery."
There was better news elsewhere for Southampton, though, with the return of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (concussion), Ryan Bertrand (back) and Maya Yoshida - the latter from Asian Cup duty.
