They say that in life when one door closes another one opens and that could be the case if Shane Long should be unable to play against Burnley on Sunday after coming off injured for the Republic Of Ireland.
Shane Long's evening for the Republic of Ireland started on a high note when he gave them the lead early in their game against Moldova, watching Saints fans would have been hoping that having ended his goal drought that this could kick start his season for Saints in front of goal.
However this looks likely to be on hold when Long had to come off just after the hour mark with what looked like a hamstring injury and now Saints will like Ryan Bertrand assess the extent of the injury and how long it will keep him out.
Usually hamstrings can be anything between 2 -4 weeks, depending on how the injury occurred and whether the player has merely tweaked it and come off before it has got worse or whether it has torn.
The worry for Saints is that this could leave them short on striking options with a tough and vital run of games coming up, of late in the League Long has been used off the bench with Charlie Austin playing alongside Dusan Tadic and Nathan Redmond, so if Long should not be fit for Sunday's game with Burnley it will leave us short of firepower off the bench.
Jay Rodriguez could return after his latest injury, although the club will be keen not to rush him back and the same goes with Sofiane Boufal who although is in full training really needs to get in an academy game before coming into not only a new team but a new league where he is not used to the pace of the action.
However as the opening paragraph suggests, sometimes in football an injury for one player could be the big break for another and in that sense Olufela Olomola could be the beneficiary of Long's misfortune.
The 19 year striker has been on the bench a couple of times this year and the feeling is at the club he could be the next big think with a combination of pace and power.
His route to getting on the pitch has been blocked by Long as although the Irishman has not scored lately he is still a vital member of the team and contributes in other areas, but now the door could be open and They say that in life when one door closes another one opens and that could be the case if Shane Long should be unable to play against Burnley on Sunday after coming off injured for the Republic Of Ireland.
Shane Long's evening for the Republic of Ireland started on a high note when he gave them the lead early in their game against Moldova, watching Saints fans would have been hoping that having ended his goal drought that this could kick start his season for Saints in front of goal.
However this looks likely to be on hold when Long had to come off just after the hour mark with what looked like a hamstring injury and now Saints will like Ryan Bertrand assess the extent of the injury and how long it will keep him out.
Usually hamstrings can be anything between 2 -4 weeks, depending on how the injury occurred and whether the player has merely tweaked it and come off before it has got worse or whether it has torn.
The worry for Saints is that this could leave them short on striking options with a tough and vital run of games coming up, of late in the League Long has been used off the bench with Charlie Austin playing alongside Dusan Tadic and Nathan Redmond, so if Long should not be fit for Sunday's game with Burnley it will leave us short of firepower off the bench.
However as the opening paragraph suggests, sometimes in football an injury for one player could bethe big break for another and in that sense Olufela Olomola could be the beneficiary of Long's misfortune.
The 19 year striker has been on the bench a couple of times this year and the feeling is at the club he could be the next big think with a combination of pace and power.
So we could be looking forward to our first view of Olomola in the final quarter of the game against Burnley and with the team playing well under Clause Puel and adapting to his systems, the Frenchman has already proved he is not afraid to use a youngster or two.
Indeed he has used his squad well and this has meant that the fringe players in the team, both experienced and youngsters are kept sharp and always with a sight of a game before them, unlike in previous seasons where many squad members perhaps felt that unless someone was injured they would never get a chance.
I don't want to heap too much pressure on Olomola ' shoulders, but you do feel that the youngsters seem to have more confidence to come into the team and play without fear than they did under Ronald Koeman and this has already reaped it's rewards for Saints and might just do so again on Sunday.