Southampton striker Jay Rodriguez could require surgery on an ankle injury, manager Ronald Koeman has confirmed.
The England forward, 26, has not played since a 2-2 draw against Leicester on 17 October.
Rodriguez made a long-awaited return from a ruptured anterior cruciate knee ligament
at the start of the season.
“Jay is not good,” Koeman said. “It’s now a long time and we have to make a really tough decision how we treat it.”
Rodriguez has made 12 appearances for Southampton this season, scoring three goals.
“His foot is a problem, it gives him a lot of pain. We did everything and now the final call may be surgery next week,” the Saints boss added.
Koeman admitted he does not know how long the former Burnley player could be out of action if he requires an operation.
However, Virgil van Dijk and Shane Long have been declared fit for the visit of Stoke on Saturday.
Defender Van Dijk has recovered from a knee problem which forced him to withdraw from the Netherlands squad following their 3-2 victory against Wales on Friday.
Striker Long did not suffer any recurrence of an ankle injury while playing for the Republic of Ireland in their Euro 2016 play-off second leg against Bosnia.
