Luke Shaw looks like missing out on a dream appearance at Stamford Bridge after badly gashing his knee at Aston Villa.

The 17-year-old left back, who last week committed his long term future to Saints, was stretchered off towards the end of the 1-0 victory at Villa Park.

After the game Nigel Adkins confirmed the gash to Shaw’s right knee was a bad one.

That is likely to mean a short spell on the sidelines for the boyhood Chelsea fan.

“He’s got a very badly gashed right knee which is quite swollen,” reported Adkins, who has Danny Fox on stand-by to deputise.

“There are also quite a lot of scars on his left knee where the challenge was.

“We’ve got an excellent medical department and we will see what the diagnosis is.

“We’d like to think it’s nothing more than a very heavy challenge but we will wait and see.

“It’s quite a big blow he took to his knee.”

Full story in today's Daily Echo