Southampton's Jordy Clasie returns to training after overcoming ankle injury

He's yet to play a Premier League match for the club, but with each disappointing result, Jordy Clasie's legend as Southampton's most important player continues to grow.

The Dutchman - who joined the Saints from Feyenoord this summer as a direct replacement for Morgan Schneiderlin - is on the verge of a return, as Southampton announced Tuesday the midfielder is back on the training pitch.

Clasie, brought to the club for a reported £8 million, suffered an ankle injury in early August while working with the U-21 squad, ironically as a means to help him regain fitness after picking up a hamstring problem in July.

Though Southampton's defence was stingy last season, conceding just 33 goals en route to a seventh-place finish, it has already been breached eight times in six matches in the 2015-16 campaign - a tally that has plenty to do with the extended absence of the Dutch international.