There was some encouraging news for Chris Iwelumo following the scan he had on his injured right knee yesterday.
Whilst the results revealed ligament and bone damage, the striker is optimistic that his absence from the squad won't be long term.
Boss Mick McCarthy said: "It's not as bad as we thought it would be but he still has medial ligament damage and bruising to the bone.
"But it's a lot better than we thought. He's been doing some stuff in the pool and walking but we haven't got any time on his recovery.
He's obviously out for this weekend but he is fairly optimistic actually. There's not long (of the season) to go if he's damaged his medial ligament so I guess we'll just give the knee a chance to settle down."
On picking up injuries to some of his key players - Michael Kightly, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Chris - at this time of the campaign, Mick added: "It happens, it happens to everybody else, we're not immune from it.
"Sylvan won't be available for tomorrow but we are hopeful for Monday. He's got a tight hamstring and isn't fit for Southampton.
"But everybody else is fine."
