SAINTS’ Carabao Cup win against Fulham came with a heavy price.

Ralph Hasenhuttl opted to play a host of his senior stars to win him the game, which is exactly what they did.

However, that came at a cost.

Michael Obafemi, whose season was interrupted by two hamstring injuries last year, had to limp off the Craven Cottage turf just 10 minutes after scoring his first goal since last December.

The biggest blow came shortly after when star player Nathan Redmond had to be assisted off the field by Saints’ medical staff.

Redmond, who recently signed a four-year contract extension on the south coast, is pivotal to everything the St Mary’s side are trying to achieve.

And it will be his injury that will cause the most concern for Hasenhuttl.

The winger finished last season as the club’s top scorer and wouldn’t surprise anyone if he repeated that achievement come May next year.

His goal against Brighton at the weekend sealed Saints’ first win of the campaign and made sure they ended their run of seven Premier League games without a victory.

Although Redmond will grab the headlines, the concern around Obafemi shouldn’t be taken lightly either.

Hasenhuttl has previously spoken about how the youngster’s body needs special attention because of the way he is built.

At one point, the Austrian described Obafemi as a “Formula One car” due to the number of components that have to go into it to make it perfect.

Hasenhuttl confirmed after the match that the striker suffered from cramp, which adds to the point of him needing to recover properly after games.

It would be cruel on Obafemi if every time he makes a gut-busting run, he has to think twice about whether his legs can absorb the pressure.

His first hamstring injury couldn’t have come at a worse time last season, having just scored his maiden goal for the club, he was sidelined for two months.

And after recovering in time for the Arsenal match in February, he pulled up again clutching his hamstring and went onto miss the rest of the season.