Granit Xhaka
Switzerland manager Murat Yakin says he has to manage Sunderland star Granit Xhaka’s minutes during March’s international break.
The midfielder picked up an ankle injury in January that saw him spend over a month on the sidelines, missing five matches for the Premier League side.
Since regaining full fitness in February, he’s played six matches for Sunderland including the FA Cup defeat to Port Vale.
Xhaka played the full 90 minutes [after the setback] in the Black Cats’ league defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion and in their 2-1 derby win over Newcastle United at the weekend.
The 33-year-old arrived at the Stadium of Light from Bayer Leverkusen in July 2025. At the end of last year, he said Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus convinced him to join the club.
His decision to move to the Premier League side has paid off as Régis Le Bris immediately gave him the armband and utilised him regularly. Below are his Premier League stats
Appearances: 27
Starts: 25
Minutes: 2, 273
Minutes per game: 84
This shows his importance for both Le Bris and the Premier League side, while he also has a similar role with the national team. Yakin is happy his captain has regained full fitness but wants to avoid any possible overload for Xhaka.
Manager happy with Xhaka’s return
Blick cover comments made by Murat Yakin on Sunderland star Granit Xhaka’s fitness. He insists the need to respect the former Arsenal man’s body for the upcoming fixtures.
“I’m in close contact with Granit. I’m not worried; he knows his body,” he said.
The coach wants to utilise him while the latter also wants to play as much as possible for his country.
Despite this, Yakin explained: “We’ll discuss how long he’ll play.”
The Sunderland man’s game time in the next two matches will be shorter when compared to the World Cup qualifiers.
Yakin’s squad for March international break
Switzerland have two friendlies against Germany [on Friday] and Norway on March 31st.
Murat Yakin’s full squad for these two fixtures:
Goalkeepers: Gregor Kobel, Yvon Mvogo, Marvin Keller
Defenders: Manuel Akanji, Aurèle Amenda, Eray Cömert, Nico Elvedi, Luca Jaquez, Miro Muheim, Ricardo Rodriguez, Silvan Widmer
Midfielders: Michel Aebischer, Remo Freuler, Ardon Jashari, Johan Manzambi, Fabian Rieder, Vincent Sierro, Djibril Sow, Granit Xhaka, Denis Zakaria
Forwards: Breel Embolo, Noah Okafor, Joël Monteiro, Dan Ndoye, Alvyn Sanches, Ruben Vargas
🇳🇱 Brian Brobbey | “Used to have problems”
✅ Ronald Koeman credits Sunderland move
💪 Much fitter, an example for Dutch football
➡️ Move working out great for everyonehttps://t.co/D9G6SSNZRf #safc
— Sport Witness (@Sport_Witness) March 24, 2026