Five players Southampton could be missing versus Norwich EPL

The Canaries are bottom of the Premier League table but will be no pushovers, considering they’ve now employed former Aston Villa boss Dean Smith.

He replaces sacked Daniel Farke as head coach and takes on Saints for the second consecutive match, after Villa’s 1-0 defeat at St Mary’s ended his time at the helm of the Midlands giants.

So manager Ralph Hasenhuttl will want as big a squad as possible to pick from for the journey.

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Before the international break started, just two Saints players were unavailable – but now he could be facing a much worse scenario.

Some of Saints' key players may not be available (Pic: Stuart Martin)

We are expecting to get further updates on each player during Hasenhuttl's pre-match press conference on Thursday. 

Here are the players Hasenhuttl could be forced to do without this weekend - and why.

Jack Stephens

Reason: Injured

Defender Jack Stephens has been out since mid-September with a knee tendon injury picked up at Manchester City.

Although the 27-year-old is back on grass pitches in individual sessions and is targeting an imminent return, it’s likely he won’t be ready until at least next weekend or beyond.

Jack Stephens' road to recover is almost complete (Pic: PA)

Nathan Redmond

Reason: Illness

Nathan Redmond was absent from the 1-0 win over Aston Villa and it was revealed shortly after team news that he had tested positive for COVID-19.

He will have done his full isolation period by the time Norwich rolls around, but he will have missed training and may still feel some affects from the illness which would sideline him.

Hasenhuttl could be forced to go without the attacker whom he has shown immense faith to this season.

Nathan Redmond's performances divide Saints' supporters (Pic: Stuart Martin)

Tino Livramento

Reason: Potential injury

The one that will leave Saints fans sweating will be Tino Livramento, after the 19-year-old pulled out of England under-21 duty with an unspecified injury.

He took several fouls and knocks during the Villa contest, notably from Anwar El Ghazi, and looked like a youngster who needed a rest – in truth.

Although we are unsure how serious the injury is at this point, Hasenhuttl could opt to give him a weekend off if he’s not right up to it.

Tino Livramento took a number of fouls in the Villa contest (Pic: Stuart Martin)

James Ward-Prowse

Skipper James Ward-Prowse had been battling illness in the form of stomach issues throughout the entire start of the season, as well as nursing a knee injury.

He was going through the wars to play for Saints but was forced to withdraw from Gareth Southgate’s England squad through illness this break.

It is unspecified what the illness is, and whether it could have even been COVID-19 related after Redmond’s positive test.

The two weeks off may be enough for Ward-Prowse to recover, or Saints could be without him again – as they were for two Premier League games following his red card at Stamford Bridge.

James Ward-Prowse was denied the chance to add to his two England strikes (Pic: Stuart Martin)

Armando Broja

Reason: Knock

The Albanian international, Armando Broja, played no part for his country during this break.

He injured his ankle twice during goal celebrations versus Leeds and Burnley, and had to limp off the latter with an ice pack.

The youngster missed the win at Watford but then made a late substitute appearance against Villa, however the ankle was still sore and meant he missed Albania’s defeat versus England on Friday before returning to Saints early.

Armando Broja has two goals in his last two starts (Pic: Stuart Martin)