Austin injury opens door for Long

Shane Long is set for a rare Southampton start after manager Claude Puel confirmed that Charlie Austin will miss Sunday's Premier League clash with Middlesbrough through injury.

The Ireland striker has come off the bench in Southampton's last three Premier League matches against Liverpool, Everton and Crystal Palace, but his last start for the Saints was in the 1-0 home win over Swansea on 18 September.

Puel confirmed on Saturday morning that Austin will miss the game against Middlesbrough with the shoulder injury he sustained in the Europa League draw with Hapoel Be’er Sheva on Thursday.

"For the moment, I don’t have all the news. He’s not available for Sunday, and we will see later what the full answer is and how long he will be out for," Puel said.

"It’s a disappointment for him, because he has had a good first part of the season, but it’s important for the team to have a good answer. We will see the quality of other players."

Puel hopes Jay Rodriguez and Sofiane Boufal, who both missed Thursday’s game against the Israeli champions, will be fit for Sunday's game at St Mary's..

"I hope we can recover Rodriguez and Boufal for this game," said Puel.

"They were a little injured for yesterday, and it’s important to have all the players available for the next games."

Puel is also optimistic that Dusan Tadic could return to the starting line-up after three weeks out with a nose injury, following his substitute appearance against Be’er Sheva.

"We will see this. He has had just a few training sessions with the group after three weeks out and it’s important he comes back step by step," Puel continued.

"Normally he would go to start and we will see how many times he can play."

Photo (Getty Images/ Mike Hewitt)

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