Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris will face the media on Thursday afternoon...
Rarely has an international break dragged like this current one. The deliberately lengthier lull means that by the time Sunderland return to action against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon, it will have been a full 20 days since Regis Le Bris’ side last lined up together.
But just because the Black Cats have not kicked a ball for the better part of three weeks, it does not mean that there haven’t been plenty of discussion points on Wearside. And with that in mind, here are some of the more pressing topics that Le Bris will likely be asked to address during his pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon ahead of Brighton’s trip to the Stadium of Light...
Brian Brobbey’s injury
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Perhaps the most concerning moment of the international break came when Brian Brobbey, fresh off the back of scoring a stunning hat-trick against Manchester City, limped off with an apparent hamstring complaint during a 1-1 draw between the Netherlands and Germany. Since then, updates have been scarce to the point of non-existent, and given the vital role that the hulking Dutchman plays for Sunderland, you can almost guarantee that his fitness status will be the first thing Le Bris is asked about in midweek.
Dan Ballard’s fitness woes
Alongside Brobbey, Dan Ballard’s apparent injury setback looks to be the other big blow suffered by the Black Cats over the past three weeks. Like his teammate, the centre-back was seemingly struck down by a hamstring complaint, and subsequently had to withdraw from Northern Ireland’s camp. Further reports have suggested that the issue could be a bad one, and may require a lengthy stint on the sidelines, but actual information has been hard to come by, and as such, the fanbase will be waiting nervously for Le Bris to offer an update in the coming days.
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The rest of Sunderland’s returning internationals
Elsewhere, Sunderland have had plenty of other talents away on international duty, and the hope will be that all have returned to the North East unscathed. At various points, Noah Sadiki looked to have tweake something during a DR Congo match, and there were rumours that Wilson Isidor might have sustained a knock while playing for Haiti, but both players seem to be okay, and it would be a real boost if Le Bris could offer similarly positive updates on their globetrotting colleagues too.
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Granit Xhaka’s vaccine saga
And finally, after initially being called up for Switzerland, Granit Xhaka found himself back on Wearside this international break as an investigation was launched over allegations that he obtained a forged Covid-19 vaccination certificate back in 2022. For the most part, things have gone quiet over the past few days, however, and it will be interesting to see whether Le Bris is able to shed any more light on the situation, or if he is able to provide an insight into how Xhaka has been dealing with the stress of a highly unusual obstacle over the course of the past few weeks.
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