Three players missing for Southampton ahead of Sunderland - including £10m man and Newcastle loanee

Southampton will be unable to call upon three injured players ahead of the clash against Sunderland in the Championship at St Mary's on Saturday - with another man a slight doubt for the game.

The Saints were set to host Preston on Wednesday night, before another home game against Sunderland on Saturday. Yet a club statement has confirmed the Preston match has been postponed "after consultation with the local authorities and emergency services following a fire near the ground.

The postponement means Southampton remain fourth in the Championship table, eight points behind second-place Ipswich with a game in hand. Russell Martin’s side got back to winning ways with a 4-3 victory over Birmingham last weekend but have lost three of their last five league games.

Here, though, we take a look at the latest injury news regarding The Saints:

Former Tottenham defender Kyle Walker-Peters missed the win against Birmingham City and was a doubt for the postponed game against Preston North End. Southampton will be monitoring the player ahead of the clash against Sunderland this weekend and are hopeful he could return.

“He was back on the grass today, tomorrow may be too early," said Martin on Tuesday afternoon. "It probably will be. But we’re hopeful to have him back on Saturday.”

Ross Stewart joined Southampton from Sunderland for a fee of around £10 million when dealing with an Achilles tendon injury. He made two substitute appearances for the Saints in November but has been sidelined since. His season is all but over, having played less than a half of football.

Russell Martin said recently: "I think we need to be really honest about Ross and realistic - we probably won't see him again this season. Although it's short-term pain for us, long term we need Ross to have a full pre-season.

"To then risk him for maybe three or four weeks of this season seems a little bit crazy, but it depends on the situation we're in. I'm not going to come out here and lie pretending he might be fit, so I think if we say he's not going to be here this season and then if you do see him at some point, it's a huge bonus."

Juan Larios is also out of the clash against Sunderkand and has been rehabbing in his native Spain - having suffered a 'severe' hamstring injury in September. He hasn't played for more than a year and won't play in the 2023-24 campaign.

Russell Martin said on February 20: "He is here, he is back in the building and it has been lovely to have him back for the last few weeks. He has got a lot of work to do to get there. It is nice to have him and we really like Juan, we've been so disappointed for him. "

Newcastle United loanee Ryan Fraser left St Mary's on crutches against Millwall and will be out for a month with a knee injury. Martin said, on Tuesday: "Wee Man will be the same. The Leicester game being delayed suits him as he'll miss one game less. We’re hopeful he’ll be back for Middlesbrough. If he’s not it will be the game after."