SAINTS boss Ralph Hasenhuttl admits the return of Maya Yoshida from the Asian Cup has given him a selection problem - but will stick with the back five that has helped keep his side unbeaten in 2019.

Yoshida last played for Saints in the 0-0 draw at Chelsea on January 2. 

Saints have not last the four Premier League matches they have played while he was leading Japan to the final of the Asian Cup, which they lost to Qatar last week.

But Hasenhuttl said: “I have a problem now. Maya Yoshida is back and when he left the last game he played was a zero-zero against Chelsea, the only clean sheet since I’ve been here. 

“It’s a good signal for the team if a player comes back and the team works very good that he’s not automatically back in the team. 

“Maya knows at the moment I don’t want to change the back five as Jack [Stephens] did a fantastic job last week so it’s normal he will play now. 

“But I’m happy Maya’s back as you never know.”

Saints have also been boosted by the return of Ryan Bertrand.

“Ryan is back and has nearly trained in every session,” he continued. 

“With Maya back after the Asian Cup, we have a few more options in the back-five which helps us to have better training sessions.

“The guys have had a really concentrated week and they’ve shown a mixture of having fun and working hard, you can feel it’s a good passion in every session.”