Saints are likely to be without midfield powerhouse Mario Lemina for this weekend’s crunch clash with Burnley at St Mary’s, but are hopeful he will be fit to return after the next international break.

Lemina was forced out of the 1-1 draw with Brighton at the Amex with an ankle injury sustained in training last week.

Though the damage is understood to not be too serious, Lemina is not currently being considered for the visit of Burnley.

Helpfully that is the last game before the next international break, with Saints not playing again until November 18 when they travel to Liverpool.

It is hoped that Lemina will be ready for a return at Anfield, which marks the start of a busy run of fixtures.

Mauricio Pellegrino will be desperate to have Lemina in top condition for that period of matches, which sees Saints play all of the Premier League’s top six before the turn of the year, with five of those games being away from home.

With that in mind, Saints know they really need to convert another home game into a win when the Clarets come to town.

Though Burnley have risen to seventh in the Premier League table, they still represent a decent chance for Saints to put another three points on the board.

Pellegrino will have another tricky decision to make in terms of his team selection and who to play in the heart of midfield in Lemina’s absence.

He started at Brighton with Oriol Romeu playing the anchoring midfield role alone in what was more akin to a 4-1-4-1 formation.

That changed somewhat during the game, with Romeu playing alongside Steven Davis and latterly substitute Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in a more traditional 4-2-3-1 style formation.

Playing at home Pellegrino is likely to want to go with a more attacking line-up, which suggests he could start with a 4-2-3-1, which leaves him several options.

He could play Davis in the deeper role, potentially freeing up a more attacking spot for another player, potentially Nathan Redmond, who was on the bench with Sofiane Boufal not really able to take his chance after a recall to the side, or Shane Long.

The Republic of Ireland international was dropped with Pellegrino concerned over the lack of another strike option to use from the bench with Charlie Austin out injured and Manolo Gabbiadini playing through the middle.

Hojbjerg’s late cameo at the Amex was his first minutes of the season, and he will be hoping to get a start under Pellegrino this weekend.

James Ward-Prowse can also play a slightly deeper role if Pellegrino doesn’t want to use him in a more attacking right sided position.