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.
