Ireland midfielder Delap nearing full fitness

Southampton's Rory Delap has given himself a chance of making Sunday's FA Cup semi-final against Watford by returning to training…

Southampton's Rory Delap has given himself a chance of making Sunday's FA Cup semi-final against Watford by returning to training today after being sidelined for six weeks.

The Republic of Ireland international, who tore medial ligaments in the FA Cup fifth round win over Norwich, is 90 per cent fit and got through this morning's session without problems.

"I was blowing a bit by the end of training but I did a bit of running after the ball work and did not feel any worse than usual so hopefully that is a good sign," he told the club's official website.

Delap was forced out of Brian Kerr's plans for the recent European Championship qualifiers in Georgia and Albania.