Charles amping up return
Shea Charles is edging closer to a return to action, as he prepares to rejoin team training.
The Northern Ireland international has been out since the end of October with a hamstring injury picked up late on at Blackburn.
Giving an update on the fitness of his squad, interim manager Tonda Eckert confirmed Charles will link up with the rest of the squad in training as he steps up his return.
"Shea will have his first training session with the team quite soon, but again it will take a little longer to be involved in a matchday squad."
While the 22-year-old remains absent, Oriol Romeu - who made his second Saints debut at Millwall last weekend - played for the Under-21s as he builds match sharpness.
"So Ori got another 45 minutes in his legs on Tuesday, that was very important," Eckert said. "Mads [Roerslev] is still going to take a little bit longer, Elias [Jelert] is going to take a little bit longer.
"Positive news is that Sam Edozie had his first session, also a big session, on Wednesday. Ross [Stewart] is going to be a little bit longer, Damion [Downs] is not at 100% yet."
