It’s a well overused cliché to say that having an injured player back will be like getting a new signing.

More often than not it’s used for a player that isn’t even that influential, and hasn’t been out all that long, or maybe even chucked in as some sort of an excuse to cover for poor results in the time without the man in question.

But never could the saying be more accurately applied than with Jay Rodriguez at Saints.

It is partly about the length of time he has been out, and what has happened in the interim.

It was April 2014 that we last saw him in a competitive game for Saints.

Of course that was the awful day at Manchester City when he snapped his cruciate ligament.

It’s a long way back from that injury at the best of times but, as is so often the case, even with the best medical cover money can buy, complications are often not too far away.

It all added up to Rodriguez missing the whole of last season.

But far from the cliché getting trotted out because an absence has caused huge problems, Saints carried on without him.

In fact, their finishing position was better last season than even in the previous campaign when Rodriguez had been top scorer.

It was a remarkable testament to the squad that Ronald Koeman assembled, and then so brilliantly managed.

After such a long time away from things, and with such success in between, it’s almost as if Rodriguez’s very presence at Saints had faded into the background.

That feeling was only added to by those nagging doubts as to exactly what sort of player would return after such an extended period out of action.

When you look at the Saints squad for last season, and throw it forward to the new campaign with the various changes and additions, penning in the name of Rodriguez is like finding a new player.

And what a player.

He adds so many options to Koeman’s arsenal.

He of course can run from deep, get beyond the front man and score goals, as he did so marvellously in his 17 goal campaign.

He can also add another option as a main striker through the middle.

When you look at the trickery of some of the attacking players Koeman has, the pace of others and the directness of a few more, there are so many options at his disposal.

He is in the enviable position of potentially picking a team with the precise attacking qualities to take advantage of the opposition’s defensive weaknesses.

Of course, none of this would be any good in the short term if Rodriguez was going to take time to get going.

In truth, holding him back from playing at the end of last season was the most sensible option, even if the emotions at the time might have suggested otherwise.

It has given him longer still to work on his recuperation and to build the strength and power necessary to be confident in his knee.

With an ACL injury, as much about the player that returns is in the mind as it is the body.

So how rewarding then to see Rodriguez already suggesting he is back and means business in pre-season.

He bagged two goals against RB Leipzig and now a hat-trick against the unfortunate KVV Quick 1920.

There is no point in pretending that either of these sides are even close to what he will face when the meaningful football starts, but this is Saints warming up, and he can only do what he can do right now.

The point is what he is doing he is doing really well.

Koeman probably learned very little from his side’s 10-0 thrashing of Quick last night, but that was never likely to be the case.

When you as a Premier League team choose to play a club that are in the second tier of Dutch amateur football you aren’t picking a side that are going to give you a real test. That comes against Feyenoord tomorrow night.

Instead this was about continuing to build up fitness and sharpness, to give players a chance of more game time.

For Rodriguez it was the perfect chance, not only to get that confidence boosting hat-trick, but also to complete 90 minutes for the first time since his injury.

The tone in last night’s game was set in the first minute as Steven Davis put Saints ahead, with Graziano Pelle and Rodriguez making it 3-0 by 15 minutes.

It was 7-0 at half-time with Rodriguez and Steven Davis scoring again and Pelle bagging another two to secure his hat-trick.

The second half was a slightly less dramatic affair with Jordan Turnbull and Juanmi adding another couple before Rodriguez completed his treble with four minutes remaining.