Graziano Pelle will have an injection in his knee on Monday in a bid to make him available for the busy Christmas period.

The Italian striker was not deemed fit enough to start in the defeat against Crystal Palace at the weekend, and instead came on as a second half sub.

Pelle’s knee compliant meant he struggled to complete the last couple of training sessions before the game, and Koeman revealed he will have an injection to try and fix the problem.

Saints will then have to anxiously wait to see how it settles down before making a decision on whether he can face Tottenham on Saturday.

Koeman explained: “He was not fit enough to start.

“He is struggling several weeks now with a knee injury.

“He will get an injection this Monday and takes him out for two days then.

“Then we hope we have resolved the problem.

“He wasn’t training the last few days, not at the intensity of the rest and not the whole sessions, and he was not ready for 90 minutes.

“That was the reason why he didn’t start.”