Sunderland’s Premier League opener against West Ham United at the Stadium of Light is drawing closer
Sunderland's Premier League campaign is now less than a fortnight away and though the Black Cats have recruited aggressively and extensively already this summer, a lengthy injury list means that at this stage there are still places very much up for grabs ahead of West Ham United's visit on opening day.
Granit Xhaka, Reinildo and Robin Roefs all pressed their claims with solid debuts against Real Betis at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, and will get more minutes in the friendlies against Augsburg and Rayo Vallecano this weekend. Reinildo only played an hour against Real Betis but had wanted to play more, Sunderland opting to take a cautious approach on his first appearance since joining from Atletico Madrid. Reinildo will step up his involvement this weekend and providing he comes through with no issues he's expected to line up at left back against West Ham United.
Reinildo was pushed inside to play in central defence against Real Betis on Saturday due to an injury to Jenson Seelt. Régis Le Bris confirmed afterwards after the game that it was only a minor problem and so at this stage, Seelt is expected to be available next weekend. Ideally the Black Cats would recruit a senior central defender for the start of the new season, allowing Seelt to go out on loan and get the regular senior football he needs after a long injury lay-off. At this stage, however, there has been no breakthrough.
This weekend's games will be important for Sunderland, who are hopeful that Wilson Isidor and Chris Rigg will both be available to face West Ham United opening day. Isidor has been struggling with a minor thigh issue picked up after a collision in the 1-1 draw with Sevilla earlier in pre-season, and though the damage is not extensive it was hoped he could return to the squad on Saturday and get some minutes off the bench. Rigg, meanwhile, missed the U19 European Championships with an injury and though he returned to full training, a minor knock has prevented him getting any minutes so far. He has been stepping up his comeback in recent weeks and the hope had been that'd be able to return in one these games this weekend. Time will tell on that front. At this stage you would say it is highly unlikely either will be in contention to start against West Ham given their lack of recent match minutes, but to have them on the bench would be a major boost for Le Bris.
Anthony Patterson is another player facing a real race against time to be ready for the new season. An injury has prevented him from playing since the opening day of pre season and though the club do not believe it is a long-term issue, he has had very little in the way of both training and playing time of late. Roefs looks set to be in goal for West Ham's visit and Patterson is at this stage a doubt to take a place on the bench. This weekend's games will again offer a big clue on that front.
Beyond that are the longer-term injuries. Leo Hjelde, Aji Alese, Luke O'Nien and Dennis Cirkin will all miss the first three games of the season, with Sunderland hopeful they'll be back in contention after the international break. There has of yet not been a timeframe publicly placed on **Romaine Mundle'**s return after hamstring surgery, but it would be a major surprise if he returned before that quartet in late August/early September.
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How Sunderland’s starting XI to face West Ham United looks to be shaping up
Roefs, Trai Hume, Dan Ballard and Reinildo look set to take up four of the positions in that defensive unit, with all eyes on whether a new centre back is recruited in time. Granit Xhaka is a lock to play as the number six, with two of Enzo Le Fee, Noah Sadiki and Habib Diarra likely to complete the midfield trio. Le Fee and Diarra are the more experienced options and would seem likely to play, but Sadiki has been excellent throughout pre season and really staked a claim.
Le Bris’s selection decisions through pre-season mean Chemsdine Talbi and Simon Adingra look likely to be the wingers to begin with, while Eliezer Mayenda’s match sharpness through pre-season might initially give him the nod over Chelsea loanee Marc Guiu.
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