Shane Long could still play again before the end of the season despite limping off with an ankle injury at Middlesbrough.

The striker, who set-up the first Saints goal before missing a penalty he himself had won at the Riverside Stadium, picked up the knock in the dying moments of the game.

It allowed Charlie Austin his first time on the pitch since injuring his shoulder at the start of December.

Saints boss Claude Puel is optimistic that Long’s injury is only minor.

He said: “It’s not bad. It’s just a knock on his ankle.

“I don’t know for the next game, we will see, but it is not a problem I think.”