Southampton manager Russell Martin has been handed a huge boost, with star striker Ross Stewart pictured in first-team training.
As shown by some images released on the club website on Tuesday, Stewart has returned to training with the first team.
The Scotland international has been on the sidelines since January after suffering an injury to his Achilles tendon and is yet to make an appearance for the Saints.
He made the move to the south coast in August from Championship rivals Sunderland, who he was with when he got injured.
Martin has recently praised Stewart for his recovery, stating his goal for the U21s against his former club Sunderland last week was a ‘huge moment’ for him.
Having Stewart back would be huge boost for Martin
It will be amazing for Martin to have Stewart in contention sooner rather than later.
The 27-year-old only has had half a season at Championship level, that being last season for the Black Cats, but showed his quality with 13 goal contributions in as many Championship games, with ten of those being goals.
Stewart will add a different dimension to Martin’s attack, with Stewart’s height any physicality that could be pivotal for the Saints’ possession-based style of play.
It would help when, if the Saints need to go long Stewart is there to win the knockdowns and start attacks from there, something they have not been able to do with Adam Armstrong at striker.
They just need to make sure to be patient and not rush anything when it comes to his recovery, as they won’t want him suffering a similar injury too soon.