Russell Martin drops pivotal Che Adams and Ross Stewart injury news ahead of Leeds United showdown

Russell Martin expects to see Southampton striker Che Adams return to fitness in time to play a part in next week’s Championship play-off final. Southampton booked their place at Wembley Stadium on Friday night with a 3-1 win over West Bromwich Albion at St Mary's and they did it without the injured Adams.

The forward has been struggling with the calf injury he picked up in the second half of Southampton's win over Leeds United on the final day of the regular Championship campaign and has consequently sat out of the Saints' play-off campaign so far. There had been hope that Adams would be fit enough to return to action on Friday night but his continued absence was notable.

Martin, though, is confident that the striker, who is out of contract this summer and has already been linked with a summer transfer to Wolves, will be ready to play some sort of role against the Whites.

"Yeah, he will be, for sure," Martin said when asked whether Adams would be fit enough by May 26. "He will be involved. Whether that's starting or on the bench, he will definitely, definitely be involved.

"For him, the risk did outweigh the reward in the end because he still felt a little something. Fair play to him, he said he would try. He said 'If I'm needed, I'll give you 10 minutes off the bench, 15 minutes or whatever.' He will be ready in some capacity for the final."

Adams scored 16 over the course of the regular season for Southampton and his availability would certainly come as a big boost for the Saints leading into the final. The same can be said for Ross Stewart, who watched the entirety of Friday's game from the bench.

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The striker made the move to Southampton from Sunderland in the summer with the Saints splashing an initial £8m, with another £2m in add-ons, to secure Stewarts' services. Unfortunately for the south coast side, injury has restricted the Scot to just four games this season.

He returned to fitness in the time to feature against Leeds on the final day, though, and he came close to scoring after stepping off the bench at The Hawthorns in the first leg of the play-offs. However, despite Martin predicting the striker to have a big role to play, he never got the nod on Friday and that caused concern among supporters.

He's fine," Martin said, allaying any fears of a serious setback. "He took a whack in the first leg, but he's taken part in some training and he was only going to be used tonight if we really, really needed him.

"We are really expecting him to be fully fit and recovered in time for the final as well. It could be two really big options for us."