SAINTS manager Russell Martin confirmed Flynn Downes and Jan Bednarek will make the squad at Middlesbrough but captain Jack Stephens is “still a way away”.

The boss was speaking ahead of a flight to the northeast to face bottom-of-the-table Boro but Saints are not without their own problems.

The St Mary’s side have lost three consecutive league matches after going the first four of the new season under Martin unbeaten.

Martin has had injury issues to contend with but the downturn in form has followed a failure to react positively to several individual mistakes in possession.  

He confirmed a boost with the return of Downes, who was lost at the start of the second half against Leicester City one week ago, saying: “Flynn is fine and will be back in the squad which is brilliant.

“Janny B got on the pitch on Tuesday and was fine so he’s ready to go, which is great,” Martin added, with the Poland international missing the 4-1 defeat to the Foxes.

Deadline day signing Ross Stewart is yet to feature for Saints having arrived from Sunderland with a long-term injury and is not expected to feature this month.

“Ross is doing really nicely but nothing has really changed on what I told you guys a week or so ago,” Martin explained.

“We’re probably looking at after this block of games and the next international break, but he’s coming along nicely, really integrating into the group and has great energy.”

Stephens, 29, has been arguably the biggest loss after coming off during the 2-1 win over QPR before the international break.

The defender had signed a new contract with the club and been named the captain as he returned from a loan spell at AFC Bournemouth last season.

“Jack has been a huge loss to us, not just on the pitch but he is the one player with a real voice, really demanding of people but in a nice way,” Martin said.

“He’s been a big loss for us and the quicker he can get back on the pitch, the better. The quicker he can back on the training pitch, the better, also.

“It’s been a slow process with the first few weeks of the injury he has had, but he is still playing a really important part in the background.

“It’s just not as big a part as we or he would like. He’s made good progress in the last week but we don’t expect him anytime in this block of games either.

“We will assess it as it goes but he is probably still a way off I would have thought. The quicker we can get him back, the better.”