Eckert ‘very hopeful’ Southampton forward will feature against Preston

Southampton boss Tonda Eckert is hopeful Leo Scienza will be available for Saturday’s trip to Preston after missing the midweek draw at West Brom through injury.

The winger was ruled out late on but Eckert does not expect the problem to keep him sidelined for long.

“Leo was a very late decision,” Eckert said.

“He’s been in quite a lot of pain, so it didn’t make sense today, but I am very hopeful for him to feature for Saturday.”

Cyle Larin and Caspar Jander also missed the game at The Hawthorns and will need to be assessed before the trip to Deepdale.

“For Caspar and Cyle we will need to assess,” Eckert added.