Southampton journalist Jacob Tanswell has shared an update regarding the current fitness situation of James Ward-Prowse.

What's the news?

In a recent tweet prior to the Saints' 0-0 pre-season draw against Austria Klagenfurt, The Athletic journalist shed some light on the matter.

He said: "No James Ward-Prowse again for #SaintsFC this evening as he sits out through injury. Coaches felt it was best not to take the risk. Understand the injury isn't too bad and he is likely to start training in the coming days, either tomorrow or when the team return home."

Last season once again showed just how vital Ward-Prowse is to Southampton on the pitch. With 36 Premier League appearances to his name and more minutes played than anyone else in Ralph Hasenhuttl's squad, the Englishman also ended the campaign with more goal contributions (15) than any of his team-mates.

In fact, the 27-year-old also topped the list for the number of shots at goal (51), shot-creating actions (113) and progressive passes (135) at the south coast club.

His overall performances in the league earned him a solid season rating of 7.01/10, making him the highest-rated player at Southampton according to WhoScored.

Now that this update has emerged regarding the Saints captain and his current fitness situation, it will surely be great news for Hasenhuttl and Southampton fans to hear that the injury is not serious.

Bearing in mind how the Saints will begin the upcoming Premier League season with a tough away fixture against Tottenham Hotspur, having Ward-Prowse fit and ready to play could be crucial for them in potentially getting their campaign off to a positive start.

Before that, Southampton still have two pre-season friendlies left to play at St Mary's against Watford and Villarreal.

If the England international can get some minutes under his belt in either of those two matches, this should put him and the rest of the team in a good place to attack their opening league game of the season in north London.

Moving forward, the best thing that everyone at Southampton can hope for is that Ward-Prowse overcomes his current injury issue and gets up to speed in terms of his fitness ahead of the upcoming Premier League campaign.

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