Patterson is still feeling discomfort after missing Sunderland’s 2-0 over Oxford United, a game in which Simon Moore made his league debut for the club. Patterson has not been able to train since then and though he has not yet been ruled out of Saturday’s game, he is a major doubt. Le Bris says Sunderland are confident that the goalkeeper has not suffered a major injury but they are not yet sure if he will return before the international break.
Elsewhere, Le Bris confirmed that Eliezer Mayenda is fully fit and eligible for selection after returning to full training last week. Dan Ballard is unlikely to be back in the squad this weekend as he recovers from an ankle injury but Le Bris confirmed that he will return to full training on Friday, meaning he should be able to return to the squad at some stage over the next week.
“Anthony, we have to wait,” Le Bris said.
“It’s not too serious, but it depends on his pain. At the minute, he can’t train, so it could be five days or one week maximum, I think. The international break might be good for him, but he could be back earlier; we don’t know. It is an unusual injury, so it depends on how he feels. At the moment, he’s not ready, but maybe next week it will be possible. Eliezer is OK, ready to play. For Ballard, he will train on Friday, and he is very close to joining the group now.”
