Delgado returns to Ecuador

Like a good South American soap opera, there's fiery tension between the cast and the resulting passionate outbursts force one of them to leave the continent.

Or was it this morning's meeting between Agustin Delgado and the club ?

Well any meeting between Strachan and Delgado would be impossible to understand so it's hard to be sure.

Anyway Agustin's solution to learning English is to do it back in Ecuador. Not the best move you might rightly think but while he's there he'll be getting specialist treatment for his knee.

This is what Delgado had been wanting to do weeks ago so the fact that the club have acquiesced shows that they have been a bit petulant over the issue.

After a three hour meeting today between club officials, Delgado, his interpreter and medical advisors Agustin will return to Ecuador for a month to recuperate.

On the meeting Rupert said: "Delgado insisted he is very happy here and that any reports to the contrary are incorrect. He has great respect for the manager and wants to work with him and to play for Southampton.

"His only concern is his knee. His rehabilitation is taking longer than any of us would like but we don't think it is a major problem. It is similar to the problems experienced by Jason Dodd at the start of this season.

"But he feels constrained by the fact he cannot speak the language which is important during rehabilitation when you need to say what hurts, where and when.

"He has never had an injury as bad as this so he is finding it frustrating, especially when he wants to get on and play and make a big impression with his new club.

"Both he and the Ecuadorian FA felt it would be better for him to recover back home so we have agreed to his request to go back to Ecuador to work with Dr Maldonado.

"He will complete his rehabilitation over the next four weeks and try to ensure the build-up of muscle round the knee which suffered when he played for Ecuador with a damaged knee.

"They are obviously concerned to ensure he is fit for the World Cup and they want him playing for us in the run-up so we share a common aim.

"We had a good long discussion this morning and we agreed that he will return four weeks on Monday with Dr Maldonado. Hopefully by then he will have recovered and be ready to show what he can do.

"Gordon Strachan is in full agreement and has spoken to the player to wish him well and tell him he is very much part of his plans. He has already seen in training that the boy can play a bit!"

Great, we finally get a South American player and he turns out to be quite a pain in the ..erm..knee.

It's going to be interesting to see who plays up front for Saints against Bolton. Jo Tessem must be fancying his chances. He always thought he was a striker anyway so you could do worse.