Southampton midfielder Oriol Romeu says Mario Lemina's return is a boost to their survival hopes.

Ahead of this evening's trip to Watford, Romeu thinks the Gabonese international could force his way into the starting XI.

Romeu said: “It's been brilliant to see Mario come back – it's been such a long time.

“He had barely trained all week and it's very good to see him back.

“We are pleased to have such a good player coming into the squad again and, hopefully, he helps us in the last stage of the season to get us as many points as possible.

“I always think that the more players we have and the better players we have who are available then the team will be boosted.

“We all want to play and we all want to play as many games as possible, but if someone is doing better than the others, then it's as simple as that."