FORMER Burnley striker Jay Rodriguez is set to return to first-team training with Southampton next week.

The 25-year-old has been out for more than a year after rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament in a Premier League game at Manchester City.

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But Southampton boss Ronald Koeman hopes that the Burnley-born striker, who scored 41 goals for his hometown club, can return to the side before the end of this season.

Koeman said: “I hope that he can play a part in one of the games, maybe the last one. Maybe it will be on one side a tough one (to return in) because it is Man City and he got this injury against them.

“That will be nice to end the season but the focus has to be next season and if he is part of one or two games this season it will be great for him, great for the team, great for the club.

“He is putting everything in to get back — but we are not in a hurry. If he comes back he has to be 100 per cent and that is most important.”

Rodriguez’s return to fitness will bring with it heightened speculation about his future. He was linked with a £20 million move to Manchester City in January, despite his injury, and the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool have also been mentioned in dispatches.

Rodriguez has won one England cap since his move to St Mary’s and has scored 26 goals in 76 games for Southampton. Koeman said he has no desire to see the player leave the Hampshire club.

Koeman said: “Of course I expect we do not sell the player. The player did not play in my first season as a manager. He is good guy, a positive one and a good player.”