Southampton will be cursing the timing of the international break, now having to wait until the very end of the month to play again to try and stop Leeds United and Leicester City running away with proceedings in the Championship top two.
The Saints had won their last two second-tier matches in enthralling contests, the defence on the South Coast breached five times in those 4-3 and 4-2 victories with the attack for Russell Martin's men thankfully electric to take the spotlight off some shoddy defending.
Still, the promotion hopefuls will be gutted if they have to wave goodbye to Manchester City loanee Taylor Harwood-Bellis at the end of the campaign – the young centre-back is rumoured to be lined up for a permanent move, but only if Southampton return to the Premier League.
If the 22-year-old does end up just moving back to City, the door could well swing open for this forgotten Saints man to get another chance.
Duje Caleta-Car's time at Southampton
Duje Caleta-Car might well be five years older than Harwood-Bellis, but the Croatian centre-back would be eager to prove any Saints doubters wrong if given another chance under Martin next season.
Caleta-Car, before relocating back to France with Olympique Lyonnais on the eve of this Championship season, was viewed as an "impressive" buy by Southampton in 2022 according to journalist Dean Jones – leaving behind Olympique de Marseille for £8m to join the Saints.
Yet, it would prove to be a difficult transition to the Premier League for the 27-year-old defender away from the comforts of Ligue 1.
Caleta-Car would make just 13 appearances during Southampton's horrendous relegation season in the top flight, only helping his downtrodden side pick up one clean sheet along the way.
The Saints number six would encourage fans with some of his displays away from his poor defensive work however, heading home a goal against Arsenal towards the back-end of the season as the South Coast outfit upset the Gunners on their own patch in a 3-3 draw.
Caleta-Car also showed off his calmness on the ball playing out from the back with an 85% passing accuracy, away from being the resilient figure his side needed deep in a relegation battle.
Therefore, the 27-year-old could be well-suited to a return under Martin's possession-heavy approach – the Saints averaging 66.2% of the ball this season according to FB Ref.
He has also shone for Lyon out on loan, even whilst the French giants find themselves in a lowly tenth position in Ligue 1 currently.
How Duje Caleta-Car is playing out on loan
It would make logical sense for Martin to consider Caleta-Car as a potential Harwood-Bellis replacement, meaning the Saints wouldn't have to break the bank to add more bodies into the building to compete with the likes of Jack Stephens at the back.
Likewise, Caleta-Car's performances in France this campaign dictate that he warrants another chance to prove his worth to the Southampton cause.
The 27-year-old has started Lyon's last seven matches in the league, a key cog at the back subsequently as the underperforming giants try to turn around their season with six wins from that patch of games.
Lyon's effective 1-0 shut-out of OGC Nice last month showcased Caleta-Car at his best, which would have caught Martin's eye when looking at how his loanees are performing.
The Croatian defender would come away from the win misplacing just three of his 44 passes, alongside digging deep when needed by winning 75% of his duels as a forceful presence.
Games played
17
Clean sheets
7
Accurate passes per game
40.4 (88%)
Balls recovered per game
3.2
Clearances per game
3.6
Aerial duels won per game
1.6 (74%)
Southampton will obviously still strive to keep Harwood-Bellis around permanently if they can, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if the South Coast outfit had to use Caleta-Car based off his improved displays at Lyon.