Southampton's Forster ruled out for season with knee injury

Southampton's bid for a European position is in crisis after the club confirmed that Fraser Forster will miss the rest of the season following knee surgery.

Scans revealed that the English 'keeper suffered damage to his left patellar tendon during Southampton's win against Burnley on Saturday.

While the team expressed its confidence that Forster will make a full recovery, the injury could keep him out of the squad for the start of next season as well, according to Dominic Fifield of the Guardian.

"Fraser is an outstanding goalkeeper and has been a huge part of our success this season," Southampton executive director of football Les Reed said. "While this is a challenging situation, we look forward to him returning to action as soon as he is fully fit.

“I am sure he will go on to make a significant number of appearances for Southampton and for England, and will get the best support available to help him recover to do so."

Forster suffered the injury when he landed awkwardly on his left leg while trying to make a clearance attempt and subsequently collided with Burnley's Sam Vokes.

Manager Ronald Koeman expressed his concern for Forster's health following the match, indicating the team's medical staff were aware of the extent of the injury in the hours after the match.

While they initially determined Forster would miss a lengthy amount of time, scans on the joint after the swelling subsided revealed the severity of the 27-year-old's injury.

Veteran 'keeper Kelvin Davis will likely get the majority of starts between the sticks over the team's final eight games.

“No one will be any sadder than Kelvin Davis, who did an outstanding job replacing Fraser in such circumstances. Nobody could be better to step into the fray in terms of experience and ability," Reed said.

“Kelvin is a big-game player, who will be ably supported by Paulo Gazzaniga and Cody Cropper. I am sure the team will now be even more motivated to ensure we stay miserly in front of our goal and ruthless at the other end."

Forster has been one of the Premier League's top 'keepers since he arrived at the club last summer from Celtic. He's been an integral part of the team's league-best defensive record, with Southampton only allowing 21 goals through 30 matches.