Mark Hughes isn't concerned with Cedric Soares' fitness.

The Portugal international was the last Saints player to return from a post-World Cup holiday. He is the only recognised right-back at St. Mary's, with Jack Stephens another option.

But Hughes is confident his body can handle the demands.

"Absolutely," said Hughes. "He's a fit boy anyway so it's not as if he's going to lose too much fitness.

"He didn't have a huge break, three of four weeks maximum, but it's not like when I was playing where you didn't do anything pre-season and it took three or four weeks to get the excess fat off.

"These guys have really low body fat so it's not quite like it was in my day."