The striker was absent from the weekend’s home defeat to Manchester United through injury and it remains to be seen whether he can return to face his former club on Tuesday evening.

Our head coach also confirmed that Estevao Willian, who was forced off against the Red Devils with a hamstring injury, will miss the trip to the south coast but Enzo Fernandez is fine to feature after withdrawing with a calf problem at the weekend.

‘Joao will be a late call,’ Rosenior told the gathered media at Cobham.

‘He was out on the pitch today, and we will make a decision on him tomorrow morning. That’s a real positive for us because he will be back sooner rather than later

‘Estevao is definitely out, which is a real shame and we are doing further tests into the extent of his injury.

‘Enzo is absolutely fine, he’s available. Elsewhere we have no other new news to report. Everyone is okay, even though it’s a quick turnaround from Saturday’s game to tomorrow.’

Elsewhere, Rosenior delivered an update on Levi Colwill. The defender has returned to team training following his recovery from a serious knee injury and featured for the Under-21 side recently.

While not putting too much pressure on the England international, Rosenior is hopeful that Colwill could feature for the Blues before the season is out.

‘Very hopeful that we’ll see him before the end of the season,’ Rosenior said of Colwill.

‘He played 60 minutes for the Under-21s, and while it was a very low-level game, getting 60 minutes was a really good start for him.

‘We want him to be involved in the next game on Saturday with the Under-21s, and build him up because it's been a really bad injury that he's come back from.

‘His rehab has gone really well and he’s trained today. He’s made a huge impression on the group and you can really feel his presence on the training pitch.

‘I can't wait to have him back in with the group.’