Kelvin Davis insists he will be a happy man if his return to action proves to be a short-lived one.

The 38-year-old made his first appearance in more than a year after seeing teammate Fraser Forster stretchered off in Saturday’s 2-0 win against Burnley with suspected knee ligament damage.

Although a full diagnosis will not be possible until the swelling has subsised, Saints manager Ronald Koeman said “it’s looking negative” and there are fears the £10m stopper could miss the rest of the season.

There were no signs of Davis’s abilities or reactions having diminished, however, as he made a string of brilliant saves shortly after coming on.

Davis says he is ready to continue in goal until the end of the season, if needed, but admits he would rather see his teammate make a quick recovery.

Asked if he expected to be in goal potentially for the rest of the campaign, he said: “Well, it is possible.

“I don’t know the answer, and, obviously, I personally hope that Fraser’s back sooner rather than later.

“He’s a great asset for us and he’s been in fantastic form, so he would be a player that we would miss if he does miss the rest of the season.”

Davis, who said the ovation he got from the fans after coming on in the early stages of the game helped him turn in such a strong performance, rated his stunning, diving save from Danny Ings as the best of his stops.

While he had not played since February 2014, the club captain explained that preparing properly each week in training had allowed him to step in from the bench so well.

“I think when you, I suppose, get to a certain level where you understand what your position is, I wouldn’t say that my focus is the same as when you’re playing week in, week out – it can’t be, but it’s a different position,” he said.

“You are sort of in touch with the game, but also in a relaxed mode, but also ready to flick the switch as soon as you need to.

“But in the week is where you do your training, in the week is where you stay fit, you stay sharp and fortunately I was able to contribute.

“I’ve done it once before with Artur [Boruc], when he came off against Chelsea and I came on at half-time.

“It’s a skill, if you like, that you can develop and, obviously, you’re straight into the game, you have to be ready and that’s when you fall back on your experience and hope when the chances are there, or the opportunities to make the saves, you produce them.”

Davis, who now has 294 career Saints appearances, also credited goalkeeping coach Dave Watson for making sure he was ready.

“I think if you’ve got a sloppy goalkeeper coach that is not too interested in anyone else other than their number one then if something like this occurs then, obviously, you’re not going to be ready,” he said.

“Obviously, Dave puts his work in and puts his effort in and puts sessions on for all four goalkeepers, not just for me, not just for Fraser, to make sure if you’re not improving you’re maintaining what you’ve got, and if the opportunity comes and you’re needed to play then you’ve got to be ready.”

On the importance of the result, which keeps Saints in the race for the top four, Davis said: “It was everything.

“We went into the game knowing that Burnley were going to be tough, hard to break down, and that proved to be the case, so three points keeps us in the mix and keeps us in line to what we want to achieve.”