AFTER a short break, the Saints squad will begin to return to training in stages in preparation for the 2024 season.

The first raft of players will begin training in the middle of next week, including the Academy members who have been elevated into the top squad.

Some of the more senior players return to the training fields and gym in the last week of November.

The cluster of players that Saints had on international duty with both England and Tonga will complete the full squad’s return to training the week before Christmas.

Saints had Jack Welsby, Tommy Makinson, Konrad Hurrell, Matty Lees and Morgan Knowles plus new recruit Daryl Clark on international duty – and they will be the last of the group to return given how late their season finished.