Michael Obafemi has been ruled out for the rest of the Premier League season due to a hamstring injury he sustained against Arsenal.
The 18-year-old Nigerian descent was a half-time substitute for the relegation-threatened side in a 2-0 defeat to Gunners at the Emirates Stadium last weekend but came off after 20 minutes at the weekend.
Obafemi had only just returned after two months out with a similar problem, and Ralph Hasenhuttl described his latest setback as 'a disaster'.
At his press conference ahead of Wednesday night's clash with Fulham and Southampton said via Sky Sports: "We have a big injury with Michael. We took a long time to let him play again, we didn't let him start.
"But it's completely different from training to when you play in the Premier League, the intensity is different. It's a big blow. Until the end of the season, he will not play.
"The worst thing is for himself. A big injury, at this age when you want to play, you want to get experience, you want to make the next step in your development, it doesn't help him a lot for the future.
"It's a big problem for his career of playing professional football. We can find solutions but for him
it is a disaster.
"He was down, that's for sure. We need to take him in our arms a little bit because for a young player it's the worst that can happen.'
Obafemi has made eight appearances for Southampton and scored his first goal in the 3-1 win at Huddersfield in December.
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