RALPH Hasenhuttl believes injured defender Lyanco is ahead of schedule in his recovery and could make a return sooner than the end of April.

The 25-year-old centre-back has not featured for Saints since suffering a hamstring tendon injury in the FA Cup clash with Coventry City, at the start of February.

Lyanco was forced to exit the field during the fourth round contest after just 34 minutes, with initial estimates suggesting he could be out for the rest of the season in a bad case.

Daily Echo: Saints defender Lyanco has been out of action for over a month (Pic: Stuart Martin)Saints defender Lyanco has been out of action for over a month (Pic: Stuart Martin)

Jack Stephens picked up the same injury back in September at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium and was sidelined for almost three months.

It was Lyanco’s 14th appearance for Saints this season, following his summer arrival from Italian side Torino as Jannik Vestergaard’s replacement.

Asked for an update on the Brazilian, Hasenhuttl told the Daily Echo: “The timeframe was end of April. But I think he’s ahead of schedule, so hopefully he is back a little sooner.”

Lyanco was seen outside St Mary’s ahead of the Premier League meeting with Watford last Sunday, and was in attendance as his side went on to lose a third successive match.

The popular Saints star was walking around the ground with his family and spotted chatting and taking pictures with a number of supporters before heading inside.

Daily Echo: Lyanco was spotted taking pictures with supporters ahead of last weekend's match (Pic: Stuart Martin)Lyanco was spotted taking pictures with supporters ahead of last weekend's match (Pic: Stuart Martin)

Asked if he has spoken to Lyanco much himself during his recovery process, Hasenhuttl responded: “Yeah when he is here I have a short chat with him, see how he is and how he feels, like you always do with injured players.

“We are not in so close contact because they are with the physios so you have not as much time to talk to them. But it looks good so I hope that he will be back a little sooner than expected.”