Southampton News & Perspective

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Southampton Official
By Graham Hiley
Saints are set to welcome back three senior players for tomorrow's trip to QPR.Matthew Oakley, Darren Powell and Danny Higginbotham have all been included in the squad for Loftus Road.
Marian Pahars will also travel and is hoping for a place on the bench although he may not quite be ready to start.Higginbotham has yet to figure under George Burley after picking up a groin injury in training on December 22, the day the new boss was appointed.
Oakley was forced off with a calf problem at half-time in Burley's first game in charge, at Watford on Boxing Day and Powell suffered a tight hamstring at home to Sheffield United.Pahars came through an hour of a Reserve game on Tuesday, his first outing since damaging medial ligaments at home to Leeds two months ago.
He said: "It is still sore but I have been told that is to be expected and I could feel pain for a few weeks or even a couple of months and I will just have to play through it."I am not quite ready to start but I could be on the bench if the manager wants to do that."
Kamil Kosowski is still out with a hamstring problem while Kenwyne Jones is hoping to recover from a bruised foot. The game may come just too soon for Rory Delap who has hurt an Achilles.Yoann Folly, Tomasz Hajto and Leon Best are all nursing niggling knocks.
Theo Walcott and Nigel Quashie are included in the squad despite persistent rumours linking them with a move.QPR will be without midfielders Tom Doherty and Steve Lomas but Marc Bircham could return. Strikers Kevin Gallen and Marc Nygaard are also missing.

QPR: (from) Royce, Bignot, Shittu, Milanese, Rose, Cook, Rowlands, Ainsworth, Langley, Furlong, Baidoo, Cole, Moore, Donnelly, Santos, Lomas, Bircham, Evatt.S

aints: (from) Smith, Baird, Lundekvam, Powell, Kenton, Higginbotham, Cranie, Dyer, Oakley, Quashie, Walcott, Prutton, Belmadi, Blackstock, Ormerod, Jones, Pahars, Fuller, Mills, Bialkowski.
http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/article.asp?article=353111&Title=QPR+preview