Cyle Larin news offers Southampton fans a welcome lift after Preston loss

Southampton couldn't sign off for the international break with one more Championship win on their travels to Preston North End.

Tonda Eckert's men put in a very flat first-half showing against the lowly hosts and were punished courtesy of a superb thunderbolt from Jordan Thompson, which handed Graham Alexander his first Lilywhites win as manager.

The German will be bitterly disappointed his lacklustre team couldn't mount a second half comeback, as they registered a whopping 20 shots during that second 45 minutes at Deepdale, yet couldn't beat a busy Lee Nicholls in-between the sticks.

Again, Lewis Dobbin and Divin Mubama left a lot to be desired, with the Manchester City loanee spurning a big chance late on, after his £9m teammate failed to test Nicholls with a single meaningful effort from his dire 80 minute runout.

Thankfully, while the mood was obviously low at the full-time whistle, Eckert offered this welcome bit of good news regarding Cyle Larin's availability moving forward...

Eckert clearly realised that the mood needed to be lifted after such a horrible away day performance.

When speaking to the media post-match, he stated that both Larin, and Caspar Jander, will be fit to play against Derby on the 21st of November, which is the first match back after another break in fixtures.

Having Caspar Jander back will be a plus, as it gives Eckert another option away from overplaying Flynn Downes and James Ward-Prowse.

But, having the Brampton Bagsman fit and firing again is undoubtedly an even bigger boost to the waning morale, as it means the Berlin-born tactician won't have to depend on the wasteful duo of Dobbin and Mubama to grab the goals.

Instead, he will put his full trust in a striker who has consistently delivered the goods on the South Coast, with some gigantic games to come after the break if the Saints want to be in the automatic promotion conversation.

Of course, you can't guarantee this as it's all hypothetical, but a share of the points might have been sealed on Saturday if Larin was leading the line.

He definitely would've tested Nicholls more than an anonymous Dobbin managed, with both Leo Scienza and Kuryu Matsuki, also, less likely to be apprehensive crossing into the box, knowing the clinical 6-foot-2 targetman was lurking.

Derby could be the perfect homecoming match for the 31-year-old, as he faces a Rams team stuck in 23rd position in the league, who have given up a mighty 30 goals.

Larin loves to excite the St. Mary's home crowd, as well, with only one of his seven strikes in league action this season - before his injury troubles took over - coming away from Southampton's fortress of a home ground.

He will hope he can get a run going, again, to try and be near the top of the golden boot leaderboard once more, with Larin's return to the side very well-timed for huge games near the top of the division against Middlesbrough and Wolverhampton Wanderers in late November and early December.

Eckert and Co. had managed to cope without Larin for a couple of games, as seen in their swashbuckling 4-1 home victory over Queens Park Rangers last month.

But, the two flat away results just before the break, in a 1-1 draw at West Brom, and then the 1-0 slip-up at Preston, exposed the Saints' wastefulness in key moments of games.

On his return, he will be expected to grab the bull by its horns and guide the promotion-chasers to some much-needed wins.

For now, he will hit the grass during the break to make sure he's not leggy, as he prepares to wreak havoc against Derby.