Sunderland are back in Premier League action when they face Arsenal at the Emirates this weekend
Régis Le Bris has confirmed that Nilson Angulo could be in the squad when Sunderland travel to face Arsenal on Saturday.
Angulo has not trained with his new Sunderland team mates yet, and is only due to arrive at the Academy of Light on Thursday night. That will likely limit his involvement this weekend, but Le Bris has no concerns over his match fitness given how regularly he has been playing with Anderlecht.
It’s therefore possible that he could yet be named on the bench at The Emirates and potentially make his debut.
“Nilson will arrive this evening.” Le Bris said.
“We'll see when he'll be with us [how quickly he’ll be involved]. He played a lot, so he's fit.Now it's a question of connection with his teammates, with the squad. It could be quick and I hope it will be the case. We'll see, but he could be involved on Saturday.”
Le Bris said the club still did not have a definitive timeframe on Granit Xhaka’s return, but that the midfielder was making progress in his recovery.
“No update on Granit yet, but he's doing well,” Le Bris said.
“He was running on the treadmill today, so it's positive.”
Le Bris also confirmed that Omar Alderete is fit to take his place in the squad. Alderete limped off in the final moments of the 3-0 win over Burnley, but the Sunderland head coach said after the game that it was a precautionary move.
The Echo has launched a new WhatsAppSAFC Channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates direct to your phone. Simply click this link to join ourSAFC WhatsApp channel.
Régis Le Bris’s message to Sunderland players ahead of Arsenal test
“We had to show the best version of Sunderland with an underdog mindset,” he said.
They are playing at a huge level. They are impressive in the Premier League, outstanding in the Champions League. They are probably one of the best teams in Europe at the minute. So it’s a tough challenge, exciting challenge - I would like to paint this picture. But we know that the level expected is really high, we'll try our best.”
Continue Reading