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BRIAN Brobbey and Habib Diarra both travelled with Sunderland today ahead of the Europa League tie with Torreense - but Regis Le Bris will be cautious with the pair and won't risk asking too much too soon as they return from injury.
Brobbey picked up a hamstring injury during the international break, while Diarra has been out since the second weekend of the Premier League season.
But in a major boost for the Black Cats, the duo are now back in training and were part of the squad that flew out to Portugal on Wednesday.
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But Le Bris has some fresh injury concerns to deal with. Thomas Meunier will miss Thursday night's game after suffering a hamstring injury against Brighton at the weekend, though thankfully for the Black Cats the problem isn't serious.
Le Bris also revealed that Wilson Isidor got a knock against the Seagulls and will be assessed before Le Bris settles on his team selection for Sunderland's second Europa League tie.
Asked for an update on the injury front and whether there are any new problems, Le Bris said: "Thomas from the last game. We'll have to wait a little bit. It's not a major injury. He'll be assessed day by day. We have one or two players like this, so we'll see.
"We'll see for Wilson because he got a knock during the game against Brighton, so he needs to be assessed."
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Brobbey's return will be a huge boost for Sunderland, but with an important Premier League game at Bournemouth on Sunday to consider, it would be a surprise if the striker was restored straight to the starting XI on Thursday night.
Le Bris said: "Brian travelled with the squad, Habib as well. They've be involved more or less quickly but we need to make sure the process is respected to make sure they'll be available for the season."
Sunderland are firm favourites to pick up a second successive European victory, but Le Bris won't underestimate Thursday's hosts, even if they are struggling at the bottom end of the Portuguese second tier.
"We'll respect this opponent 100 per cent," said Sunderland's boss.
"In out staff we have Jose Fonte, who warned us they are a really good team. They earned the right to be in this position so it's important to play the game. It's also important to manage the schedule and use the depth of the squad.
"This is what we want to experience so it's demanding. I think the depth of the squad is getting better.
"The more it's challenging the more we'll progress through the season. We need to experience this to get better. This is the situation we want to achieve and we want to get into. Everyone has to stay true to the identity to get better."