Luke Shaw is touch and go to be fit for tonight’s game against his boyhood idols.

The 17-year-old left back was stretchered off against Aston Villa with a badly gashed knee.

The initial reaction after the game suggested he may need a short break from playing while the wound healed.

But the Saints medical team have been able to patch him up sufficiently that he has already returned to training.

It may still be asking too much for Shaw to get a dream start against the team he supported as a child at Stamford Bridge tonight, but at least he doesn’t look like joining the long term walking wounded at Saints.

If Shaw doesn’t make it then the obvious option for Nigel Adkins is to draft in Danny Fox for his first start since the 2-0 defeat at West Brom in early November.

Saints will still be without Adam Lallana and Jose Fonte, who continue to recover from knee injuries.

Guly do Prado could be available for selection again after missing out at Villa due to illness.

Nigel Adkins has been keen to keep things fresh in his side but is unlikely to make too many changes to the team that defeated Villa.

Despite the heavy recent loss to Chelsea in the FA Cup, Saints go to Stamford Bridge for an arguably more important game tonight.

Though they are huge underdogs, Saints know anything they can garner from their game in hand will pull them further away from the drop zone. The game against Chelsea had initially been scheduled for December 15 but was postponed due to Chelsea’s involvement in the Club World Cup.

Chelsea strikers Demba Ba and Fernando Torres are available for tonight’s game their struggle with a hamstring injury and illness respectively.

Torres was an unused sub in FA Cup game 11 days ago while Ba scored twice on his Blues debut.

John Terry’s comeback from a knee problem will continue, although he is short of match fitness and is unlikely to start at Stamford Bridge.

Nigeria duo John Obi Mikel and Victor Moses are unavailable, along with Emmanuel Mayuka for Saints, as they are at the African Nations Cup.