Sunderland are back in Premier League action against Crystal Palace this weekend
Dan Ballard will miss Sunderland’s trip to Crystal Palace as he recovers from a groin injury, but Régis Le Bris expects him to be fit to face Aston Villa next weekend.
Le Bris also expects Luke O’Nien to be in contention for that game, after suffering a dislocated shoulder in the play-off final win over Sheffield United. However, the Sunderland head coach has revealed that he is expecting Dennis Cirkin, Leo Hjelde and Aji Alese to be absent for a longer period.
“Dan should be back for Aston Villa,” Le Bris said.
“It's a bit longer than expected for the others. For Dennis, we have to wait a bit. He didn't heal completely after his wrist injury and he had an issue with his knee as well. So he needs to rest a bit. Luke should be ready around Aston Villa. Leo struggled with his achilles, so it's a bit longer than expected as well He had the surgery for both achilles, he worked hard last season to be connected with the squad, even if it was painful.
“But now, it's like Dennis, he has to rest completely to be able to connect with the squad later. Aji is close to coming back but after a long period without playing, it's still tough to reconnect with the level. So we'll have to wait a bit.”
Sunderland’s three deadline-day signings are also in contention to feature, most likely from the bench. Though there is some doubt over Bertrand Traore, who will train for the first time with his new team mates this afternoon.
“I don't know for Bertrand, because Bertrand was with his national team during this period,” he said.
“So we'll see this afternoon. For the two others, they seem okay. Probably not ready for 90 minutes right now, but they should be ready quickly, I think.”
Romaine Mundle is expected back after the next international break from a hamstring injury.
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