Saints could welcome back injured duo Dejan Lovren and Gaston Ramirez for the trip to West Ham on Saturday.

The pair have been sidelined ever since suffering ankle ligament damage in the 2-2 Premier League draw at Sunderland a month ago.

They were initially expected to be out for six-to-eight weeks, but have recovered quicker than anticipated, and could be included in the squad for the match at Upton Park.

Saints boss Mauricio Pochettino revealed that the only definite absentee will be centre back Jos Hooiveld.

"Hooiveld is definitely out of the game," he said. "He had a problem in his eye, and he's definitely not available for that game.

"There's other players with some niggling injuries that need to be assessed and we're also looking at the possibility of putting into the list Lovren and Gaston Ramirez, and taking them to the game."