Saints need Nathaniel back for Hammers

Southampton are hoping to have Nathaniel Clyne, Luke Shaw and Emmanuel Mayuka fit to face West Ham but others look less likely.

Saints boss Nigel Adkins was relieved to go into the international break last week as it gave those Saints players carrying knocks and strains a chance to undergo treatment in a bid to be ready for the trip to Upton Park. However, the chances of Uruguayan winger Gaston Ramirez overcoming his thigh injury in time are slim and the ex-Bologna star was at St Mary's undergoing treatment today. Ramirez was said to be out for between 4-6 weeks when he picked up the knock in training and that would make it highly unlikely that he would feature this weekend. Frazer Richardson also has a thigh injury and would also appear to be struggling after he was stretchered off just eight minutes into the 2-2 draw with Fulham nine days ago. That makes it vital that Clyne, the England Under-21 defender signed from Crystal Palace in the summer, returns after his training ground injury. Tadanari Lee and Jack Cork are the other senior players on the Saints injury list with Adkins expected to update the fans on their progress later this week.