Brobbey is unavailable after suffering a groin injury in last weekend’s home defeat to Fulham, with the problem set to keep him on the sidelines for up to a month.
The Dutchman has started Sunderland’s last 12 league games, but his absence this afternoon means Le Bris will have to start with either Wilson Isidor or Eliezer Mayenda up front.
Isidor is perhaps the likelier starter given that he was named in the starting XI for this month’s FA Cup fourth-round win at Oxford United, but whoever is selected, Le Bris accepts they will be unable to replicate what Brobbey provides when he leads the line.
“They are both a bit different to Brian,” conceded the Sunderland boss. “Wilson is keen to go in behind, with longer or shorter runs. Eli can hold the ball up, but in a different way to the way Brian probably does.
“Eli wants the ball more to feet rather than holding the ball with his chest or holding off defenders, so it is a bit different. But I think we have the ability to adapt whatever we do. We will see at the weekend.”
At the start of the season, with Brobbey still to be signed from Ajax, it looked as though Isidor and Mayenda would be battling for a regular starting spot in Le Bris’ first-choice XI.
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However, Isidor’s last league start came back in early December, with his most recent Premier League goal having been scored in October’s win at Chelsea, while Mayenda has only made six league starts all season, with his only goal having come in the opening-day win over West Ham.
Neither player has been able to properly establish themselves, although Le Bris insists they remain at an early stage of their top-flight development.
“It’s good to have two strikers, even without Brian,” he said. “We wouldn’t be able to be efficient with just one. They are still learning in this league. Eli is still really young, Wilson is a bit older but still hasn’t played very much in the league.
“You can’t be mature without getting that experience. It’s a tough position, and you need maturity and those experiences. You need confidence. They are doing well from a behaviour perspective, but on the pitch it has been a bit harder for them. But we keep supporting them.
“They are nice guys and they are working hard, but especially as either a goalkeeper or a striker, the end product is so important. The weight on players in those positions is big, and it is not always easy to get to where you need to be in this part of the game.
“It is part of their learning process, and it is really just a question of time, support and opportunities. The group is small, that is the way we designed it. Even if you have a month without playing, you know that your opportunity will come.”