Mauricio Pellegrino has confirmed that Charlie Austin has returned to training after picking up an injury against Huddersfield before Xmas.

Mauricio Pellegrino has given an update on the latest injury news from the camp ahead of the vital game against Brighton.

He has said there will be late decisions on Ryan Bertrand and Guido Carrillo as to what part they may play.

With Bertrand it is a case of wait and see with Pellegrino saying

"Ryan was taken off during the game the other day but he is much better today. He will try and get ready tomorrow and we will see what condition he is in. "

That sounds hopeful that the full back pulled up befoe he did any serious damage to the hamstring and might be able to play some part in the game.

With Carrillo it is different in that the new signing doesnt appear to be injured but could be lacking match fitness, he missed Monaco's last two games before his departure with an injury, although this was not disclosed so it could be more about being pulled from the squad due to his upcoming transfer rather than a real knock.

That means that since the winter break in France although he was on the bench for the first match back he has not played since 20th December, this would mean that he would not be fit enough to start against the Seagulls but is likely to be on the bench.

Pellegrino commented

"Guido came off the bench for us on Saturday and maybe is not yet at 100 per cent. Like Ryan, we will have another look at him tomorrow."

But there is some good news in that leading scorer Charlie Austin has returned to training after his hamstring injury just before Xmas, although he is possibly at least a fortnight away from being ready even for a place on the bench.

The manager seemed happy when saying.

" Charlie is back on the pitch training, something that is really good news for us."

Now it will be a case of seeing how he reacts and how quickly he can get some form of fitness.

Photo: Action Images

Capt_Koons added 16:29 - Jan 29 Very good news, a fit and on form Charlie Austin could make the difference to our season.
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kristianJ added 18:08 - Jan 29 That’s great news about Charlie. We need him back ASAP.
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underweststand added 18:58 - Jan 29 even if Charlie gets fit enough to play (say) 60 minutes....he's hardly likely to regain his previous good form overnight. We can only hope......
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petedoors1 added 00:13 - Jan 30 With all the transfers the other teams at the BOTTOM of the Premier League have been doing and the Lack of Transfers into the Saints camp I think the writing is on the wall. Going Down. I think we will be lucky to get one point out of our next two games. THANKS LES.
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underweststand added 11:16 - Jan 30 Assuming the best ...if Charlie does get back SOON..the real question is would MP be prepared to play two strikers up front ? On paper.... a combination of Carrillo AND Austin would look really exciting.
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