CLAUDE Puel will be sweating on the state of his Saints squad after several stars sustained injuries over the international break.

There are fresh question marks over four of the club’s key men ahead of Saints’ Premier League showdown with table-toppers Liverpool on Saturday after they picked up fitness problems with their countries.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s health will be assessed before the Liverpool game after he pulled out of Denmark duty after suffering “slight” injury.

Fraser Forster is another whose condition will be monitored, having withdrawn from the England squad last week with a minor problem.

Saints’ troubles don’t end there after Ryan Bertrand sat out Three Lions training with what Gareth Southgate described as a “minor issue” and was not involved with England against Spain last night.

Dusan Tadic is almost certainly a doubt for the Reds match after he sustained a nasty broken nose in Serbia’s 1-1 draw with Wales on Saturday.

Tadic, who will likely have to wear a protective mask if he is to play, was not risked for Serbia in their friendly in Ukraine last night.

Puel will be hoping that the above mentioned quartet will be ready to face the league leaders, while also crossing his fingers that the remaining contingent of international stars return unscathed.

Maya Yoshida doesn’t often play immediately after international breaks because of the length of his usual trips - thousands of miles to Japan and back.

He can almost certainly be discounted for the restart of the Premier League season after playing the full game for the Blue Samurai in a vital 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia in a World Cup qualifier yesterday, as well as starting in their 4-0 friendly win over Oman. The victory in Saitama lifted Japan to second in Group B and level on points with the Saudis.

Steven Davis, a league regular under Puel this term, was a sub for Northern Ireland last night.

Despite some notable problems, it is likely that some the pause in play will also yield some good news, with the likes of Cedric Soares, Matt Targett, Florin Gardos, Shane Long and Alex McCarthy nearing a return from the sidelines.

Jose Fonte was on a flight back to England yesterday after playing for Portugal, while England Under-21s stars James Ward-Prowse, Nathan Redmond and Jack Stephens were also travelling back from France to the south coast.

Virgil van Dijk and Jordy Clasie have also completed their international duties with the Netherlands prior to last night and were already making their way back to Staplewood.