Southampton could be handed a massive boost for their crucial meeting with bottom of the table Sheffield United on Saturday with all three of Takumi Minamino, Kyle Walker-Peters and Ibrahima Diallo nearing returns to fitness.

Ralph Hasenhuttl has seen his squad decimated by a host of injury concerns throughout the campaign. In total, the Saints have had players missing through injury or illness for 708 days so far this term.

The likes of Oriol Romeu, Theo Walcott, Walker-Peters, Diallo and Minamino were all out injured for Southampton’s 1-0 loss at Everton on Monday night.

That was the Saints’ eighth loss in nine league matches and Hasenhuttl needs to get players back to help his side get back on track.

According to the latest report from Hampshire Live, Theo Walcott could return to training towards the end of the month with the club looking to use the international break to get him back to fitness.

The report also outlines that Diallo has already returned to individual training and it is hoped that the intensity of his workload can be increased as the week progresses to get him ready for Saturday.

While there is confidence Minamino and Walker-Peters will return to training this week as well as they near their returns to fitness.

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This latest report is a major positive for the Saints and shows that there is light at the end of the tunnel in regards to the host of injury issues they have been dealing with of late. Hasenhuttl was in desperate need of some positive news, and it seems like Walcott might be set to return to action next month which would be a huge boost for the end-of-season run-in.

It seems that Diallo is looking the most likely to be able to return to action against Sheffield United, and that would be huge given Oriol Romeu is now out for the rest of the campaign. Stuart Armstrong was moved back into the centre of midfield at Everton, but the Saints need him where he is most dangerous in the more advanced role.

It might be a case of Southampton needing to be more cautious with Walker-Peters in particular and Minamino as well. If neither have yet returned to training then the Sheffield United game might be too soon for them. However, the fact they are nearly ready is a huge lift for Hasenhuttl.