Skipper Stephens told the coaching staff that he could not play in the final minute of their preparations, forcing Nathan Wood to start at very late notice.

Saints only announced the last-minute change as the players walked out at St Mary’s, and Stephens will undergo a scan on Wednesday morning.

Asked about the lineup alteration, Eckert said: “At the last minute of the warm-up, he just said he couldn’t play because he felt his calf.

“We needed to make a late change then. Let’s see over the next few days. We need to assess tomorrow morning, and then we’ll see for Saturday.”

Wood was immediately thrust into the action, losing a one-on-one with Delano Burgzorg, but was saved by Daniel Peretz’s outstretched foot.

Southampton’s slow start was compounded when the visitors took the lead through a Ryan Manning own goal after five minutes.

They twice responded to going behind, with Cyle Larin levelling in the first half before Ross Stewart’s second-half equaliser.

But Eckert admitted it was not the best of performances, and insisted they will move on quickly ahead of facing Man City in the FA Cup semi-final.

“If you have a one-on-one with your goalkeeper after 60 seconds, where it’s just an easy ball over the last line, sometimes you need to accept it is what it is,” said Eckert.

“I think that we’ve found our way back into the game, so it speaks for the character of the players and the group. Against teams like Bristol City, you don’t get chances one after another.

“It’s just so many games in April. The expectations have been going up game after game, and that’s a credit to the players and what they’ve done over the last few weeks.

“I still think that there’s no easy game in the Championship that just falls onto you, so credit to Bristol City for a very good game.

“They made it difficult for us today, and then there are two chances to put it away and win it. If you put them away, you sit in here and celebrate three points.

“If we score one of the late chances, we sit in here, and we talk about a different game. I think that’s normal, you always get judged on the result in the end.

“It was definitely not the best performance of the season, but again, one more time, credit to Bristol City, we take that point, and we move on.”