Mauricio Pochettino insists he isn’t afraid to blood more youngsters as Saints battle an injury crisis.

Victor Wanyama has become the latest player to deliver bad news to his boss after it was confirmed he will be ruled out for a time with a hairline fracture in his leg.

He joins Artur Boruc, Kelvin Davis, Danny Fox, Nathaniel Clyne, Morgan Schneiderlin and Guly do Prado in the treatment room.

In addition, key defender Jose Fonte faces a late fitness test ahead of this afternoon’s clash with Manchester City at St Mary’s.

Gaston Ramirez’s return from a heavy cold is the only good news on the injury front for Pochettino.

who is preparing to name a handful of youngsters untested at Premier League level on the bench.
He is adamant he won’t worry about using them.
“Of course we have the confidence they can come into fold and can play well in first team action,” he said.
“We assume certain risks when we throw them into that environment but we shouldn’t forget Ward-Prowse, Shaw, Chambers are also young players who are already in the fold and taking part in first team action and are only 18 or 19-years-old.
“I think this is our process, a process of maturity of giving these players experience.
“It’s a process to be executing when the team is playing well and also in these tough moments when these young players are thrown into these situations.
“It’s a good moment for them to acquire a lot more experience and be part of the first team.”
He added: “It’s clear that injuries are the worst aspect of football.
“Nobody wants to be injured and it’s the most negative aspect and we have been unlucky of late with all these injuries coming more or less at the same time.

“We need to be strong, we need to keep on believing, keep on thinking we can be strong and understand these things can happen in football.
“That’s normal.
“Right now we are going through that moment and we just need to keep on looking forward positively into the future.
“I am confident that we can overcome this bad run we are on – that’s what we’re working for.
“This is the project we are on at Southampton, to mix very young players with more experienced players.
“This is a big test for us right now and it also gives us a good chance to bring in some of the younger players such as (Harrison) Reed, (Sam) Gallagher, Cody (Cropper), (Matt) Targett.
“It’s a very good experience for them to be in the midst of more veteran players in the senior side.
“It’s a very good chance for us to execute that plan of brining younger players into the side."