Dan Neil could be in contention for his first league start of the season with Noah Sadiki an injury doubt
Régis Le Bris believes that Dan Neil is ready to take his opportunity should Noah Sadiki not be able to feature against Wolves this weekend.
Neil has struggled for regular minutes this season following the arrival of Sadiki and Granit Xhaka in the summer transfer window, limited thus far to just one Premier League appearance from the bench as ten-man Sunderland held on for a draw against Aston Villa at the Stadium of Light. Sadiki suffered an ankle sprain on international duty with DR Congo, though the initial assessment is a positive one.
Neil topped up his match fitness by playing in a behind-closed-doors friendly win over Livingston during the international break, and Le Bris says he is pleased with his progress.
“He [Neil] has been working hard, and I think if we need him, he will be ready," Le Bris said.
"He showed that against Livingston. It’s just a question of time and opportunities, but he is definitely an option for us."
Le Bris confirmed in his press conference that Sadiki may yet to be fit to start against Wolves despite the injury scare, and confirmed that Omar Alderete looks also to have avoided any significant injury issue despite being withdrawn in the latter stages of Paraguay's friendly defeat to South Korea.
“We’re hopeful that both Omar and Noah can start, it’s possible,” Le Bris said.
“For Noah, we checked him yesterday and he seems OK. We’ll see after the training session today and tomorrow but we are positive. At the minute, he seems OK. He had this injury before so he knows how it can evolve and how serious it can be. At the moment he’s positive.
“With Omar, after 20 hours flight, we’ll see! We’ll check him this afternoon. We had a quick chat with him and he’s positive. Everyone else appears to be OK.”
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Régis Le Bris on the gap between the Championship and the Premier League
Speaking elsewhere in his press conference, Le Bris said the opening run of Premier League fixtures had demonstrated the scale of the gap between the Championship and the Premier League.
"Probably, after half of the season, we will have a better idea in our mind," Le Bris said.
"I think the overall quality is just so different. The gap is really massive. It is probably less chaotic in this league because of the quality levels. The way you control the ball has to be different, it has to allow you to be more organised and stable in possession. There will obviously be transitions, but the teams are so much better on the ball. You know how they can hurt you, you can understand their patterns, but they do it so well that sometimes you still can’t manage the situation, even if you know what patterns they will use."
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