GOALKEEPER Fraser Forster made his much anticipated return from injury last night as Saints' Under-21s kicked off their defence of the Premier League Under-21 Cup with a 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Staplewood.

Following a nine-month lay-off with a left patellar tendon injury, Forster made his comeback under the watchful eye of boss Ronald Koeman, who attend the game with assistant manager and brother Erwin Koeman and coach Jan Kluitenberg.

The 27-year-old, who was a £10m signing from Celtic and has been injured since last March, made a number of superb saves to go with a clean-sheet on his return to action.

Forster played the full 90 minutes as Ryan Seager's second-half strike sent Saints through to the last 16 of the competition.

His most impressive save of the evening came when he denied Chelsea's Kasey Palmer, getting down low to flick a goal-bound shot from close range onto the post and away.

This marks the next step in Forster's path back to the first-team, where he'll look to dislodge Maarten Stekelenburg as number one stopper.

The Dutch keeper came in on loan from Fulham as cover for Forster and has been a consistent performer.

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The Blues win also saw a return to Saints action for Jack Stephens, who has been out on loan at Championship side Middlesbrough. He played the full game.

Saints lifted the Under-21s Cup back in April and will now take on Huddersfield in the next round.

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