Midfielder absent for Saints

Nigel Adkins will again be without Jack Cork for Southampton's clash with Wigan at St Mary's but Rickie Lambert is set to start.

Midfielder, Cork, who spent the summer playing for Team GB at the London Olympics, picked up an ankle problem in his first pre-season outing for the Saints in a 1-1 draw at Bristol City earlier this month. At the time Saints boss Nigel Adkins confirmed the 23-year-old would be missing for several weeks and, after he missed last weekend's opening 3-2 defeat at Manchester City, Cork is also ruled out of the home opener with Wigan on Saturday. Japanese striker Tadanari Lee played 70 minutes for the development team this week after a foot injury and could be involved. Last season's top scorer, Lambert, was a surprise exclusion from the starting XI at the Etihad Stadium last Sunday. But, after he stepped off the bench to score for the Saints, Adkins will almost certainly hand him a start. Adkins is looking forward to trying to guide the Saints to a first Premier League win in seven years, but is not expecting Wigan to roll over for them. He told the club's website: "We play very well here and win a lot of games, so that is important that we maintain that this season. "It's a very challenging division, mentally, tactically and physically I know here at St Mary's the fans will get right behind the players." He added: "Never underestimate the opposition. Roberto Martinez is a good, enthusiastic, young manager and it will be interesting to see how we do against their formation. "We have done our homework on them so we know it will be a challenging encounter."