MANAGER Russell Martin isn't concerned about Flynn Downes' illness issues and hopes to have the midfielder back for Monday's trip to Norwich.

Downes was forced to miss Southampton's 2-1 win over Plymouth Argyle on Friday evening due to an illness.

It was not the first time that Downes has missed games through illness having previously missed their draws against Watford and Coventry.

Asked if Downes illness problems are a concern, Martin said: “No, he plays and then he recovers a bit slower than we would like.

“It’s about him and his health first and foremost. We have a lot of specialists on the case - everyone is pretty happy that it is nothing serious.

“It’s about refuelling. I think he could have been involved tonight but it wouldn’t have helped us moving forward. It’s about the person first and the player second.

“Luckily we have a lot of depth and the players who came in did a job - two of them got a goal.

"Hopefully, we will have him back for Monday (against Norwich), but we won’t risk anything with him.

“We are confident that if we get through Monday we have an FA Cup game that he won’t be involved in - that would be ridiculous."

Martin continued: "He will have a chance to get some downtime to have some rest and speak to a nutritionist. He was in such a good place before this started so I’m confident he will be alright.

“A few of them were struggling. It was difficult for me to come and say that because the next opposition may have used that to their advantage. 

“We had a few that struggled at Watford and got through it. Flynn couldn’t get through it - he had it more severe.”

Martin pointed out that Downes' bout of food poisoning during the summer, which delayed his arrival, may have had a knock-on effect on his ability to recover.

“The geezer ate raw chicken liver, that’s pretty mental. I think that’s going to have an effect at some point.”

Downes has featured 18 times for Southampton since joining on loan from West Ham United in the summer.