Jay Rodriguez will not be fit enough to return to the Saints team until at least February.

Saints boss Ronald Koeman has refused to set a date on when last season’s top scorer might make it back into contention for a slot in the first team squad following his ACL reconstruction in April.

But Koeman was prepared to confess that Rodriguez will certainly not return by the end of January.

“I think now, in this situation, he will not be available before the end of January,” he said.

Rodriguez had to undergo a second minor operation to clear out his joint but the setback is hampering his progress.

It was initially hoped that he might be back around the turn of the year, there were later brief hopes it might be earlier, but now it will be later than initially feared with no definitive timescale placed on his recovery.

“That’s difficult because he had to make a step back in his recovery and that was a pity because I remember when we spoke about the squad in the pre-season Jay will be a fantastic sign up for December or January and he isn’t,” reflected Koeman.

“All these kind of unlucky moments of injuries make parts of the difficult time that we have.

“After a big injury you don’t have to rush. He needs time and we given him the time to come back, but it’s a pity because he’s a great player.”

He added: “It’s always difficult now because it’s not good to fix on a special date to come back. He’s now making steps forwards and he needs more time and that’s the most important.

“To fix a date makes the pressure on the player and the medical staff.”