Maya Yoshida welcomed Virgil Van Dijk back to the Southampton first team – then warned he will have to earn his return to a starting place.
The £70million-rated centre-back came off the bench for the last three minutes at Selhurst Park, his first appearance since a foot injury in January and his summer transfer saga.
Van Dijk put in a transfer request last month but was unable to force a move to Liverpool.
Now he is back – at least until the next window.
Fellow defender Yoshida said: “We all know he is one of the best players in the Premier League but realistically he hasn’t played for eight months so it’s not easy to come back and just play.
“He will need a little bit of time. We now have Wesley Hoedt and Jack Stephens so we’ve a lot of competition between players.
“There is no guarantee of anyone being in the team, including myself. We all have to ensure every game that we focus for the whole 90 minutes and keep fit. Then it is going to be a good benefit for the team as well.”
Southampton deserved their first away win of the season, earned by Steven Davis’ sixth-minute goal. Former Juventus star Mario Lemina was outstanding in midfield.
“After three games, he’s getting adjusted a little bit,” added Japan centre-back Yoshida. “Much better than August.
“I’m very happy for him. He was man-of-the-match. It’s quite a good squad we have.”