Sunderland head coach Régis Le Bris will have to make at least one change to his starting XI at Stamford Bridge
Régis Le Bris has dropped a strong hint that he is ready to recall Reinildo to his Sunderland starting XI ahead of the trip to Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The Sunderland head coach will be forced into a defensive change at Chelsea due to Omar Alderete’s absence, with the Paraguay defender ruled out with a concussion. Alderete is being assessed daily in line with the concussion protocols and the club are at his point hopeful that he will be able to face Everton a week on Monday at the Stadium of Light.
In the interim, it leaves Le Bris with a big decision to make on the make up of his defence against Enzo Maresca’s side. Reinildo was shown a red card for violent conduct in the 1-1 draw with Aston Villa but Le Bris has made clear that he has moved on from that incident and that the 31-year-old is ready to play his part.
“We’ll see [whether he starts], Le Bris said.
“Rei is a really important player. He started the season playing well. He made this mistake and apologised and worked well after. He's lifted the standards of the training sessions, played two games with his national team so he's ready to go and will be really important for us.”
Sunderland’s defensive options are strong even in Alderete’s absence, with Lutsharel Geertruida pushing hard for his first start having impressed on the bench in recent weeks.
“It’s important to build consistency, especially in this league,” Le Bris said.
“If you are solid and don’t concede many goals I think it’s better to build confidence and be competitive. We defined early the profiles we needed. The alignment was good, from the owner to the recruitment staff.”
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What Le Bris said about Sunderland’s injury situation
While Alderete is ruled out with concussion, the Sunderland head coach confirmed that Noah Sadiki is available to play. The midfielder experienced some more ankle discomfort in the latter stages of the win over Wolves, but that did not prevent him from playing a full part in training this week.
Le Bris said: “He recovered really quickly. I was a bit worried after the game against Wolves but he has trained fully this week. He is young, flexible, and ready to play.”
Leo Hjelde, Aji Alese, Romaine Mundle and Dennis Cirkin remain sidelined with injury. Le Bris is expecting Sunderland to face a tough test against Chelsea: “It’s been a good start to the season for us. It shows we are consistent, flexible. Chelsea are really strong, it’s a top four team in the Premier League. They can play 60 games, they have depth, young and dynamic. It’s a good example for us. They are well coached and have individuals who can win a game. It’s a big test.”
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