Sunderland are in Premier League action when they face Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon
Régis Le Bris has named an unchanged Sunderland XI to face Aston Villa at Villa Park this afternoon.
The Sunderland head coach has resisted the urge to bring Dan Ballard straight back into the XI after his recent hamstring injury, with Luke O'Nien keeping his place at the heart of defence. While Ballard has been a hugely influential player for the Black Cats this season, Le Bris hinted he would take a cautious approach with the defender to reduce the risk of any kind of recurrence.
"Dan is available but we don't have to rush the process at the minute, which is good," Le Bris said.
"He is available for selection, but you understand the dynamic of the group. Even for Ballard, I think it's key to build this fitness level rather than to rush the process now."
Le Bris also backed O'Nien to continue his impressive form in his pre-match press conference, having made the difficult call to drop Lutsharel Geertruida to the bench for the 1-0 win over Spurs.
"Luke is a great team-mate to start with, his culture and his connection with the squad is really important," Le Bris said.
"He’s the club captain so it was natural for me to play him again in his position, to keep the consistency. For the right-back position, it’s fair to say that Nordi has been impressive this season and is a starter. It was a 51-49 decision. It’s always like that, it’s never black and white, it’s grey. It’s complex to explain but as a coaching staff and a manager, finally I thought it was the right decision."
Le Bris's other key call was on the right flank, where he has opted to stick with Chris Rigg. Chemsdine Talbi looks set to again be used as an impact substitute.
Sunderland XI: Roefs; Mukiele, O'Nien, Alderete, Reinildo; Xhaka, Sadiki, Diarra; Rigg, Le Fee, Brobbey
Subs: Ellborg, Geertruida, Hume, Ballard, Talbi, Mayenda, Isidor, Jones, Cirkin
Sunderland injury update
Bertrand Traore, Jocelin Ta Bi and Nilson Angulo remain absent with injury but Le Bris said on Friday that he expects all three to be back in full training soon.
"For Nilson, Bertrand and Jocelin, still sidelined but really close to reconnecting with the squad," Le Bris said.
"Probably around the Forest game, a bit before or maybe a bit after, they'll be able to join part or full training sessions. It's really positive for Jocelin because we thought he would be back just before the Chelsea game in training, but he has recovered really quickly. It's positive for us and very impressive."
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