Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl has confirmed that midfielder Will Smallbone faces a long spell on the sidelines after suffering a serious knee injury during Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Leicester.

The 20-year-old was making his first appearance since September but was forced off with an anterior cruciate ligament injury."It's the worst for him and for us, an ACL injury, so half a year out, maybe," Hasenhuttl said.

"It's horrible for the young lad and for us. At the moment, with injuries, it is definitely not our best run, but there are some circumstances in this strange season that lead to a lot of problems. It's a topic that we didn't have for the whole of last season."