Sunderland earned a valuable point in their last fixture before the international break on Friday night.
Régis Le Bris is hoping the international break will allow him to get ‘three or four’ players back in contention for selection.
Le Bris felt that fatigue was a factor in Sunderland’s 2-2 draw with Leeds United on Friday night, but he made just two substitutions with a number of potential impact players sidelined. Aaron Connolly was named on the bench having impressed behind the scenes since signing as a free agent. He’ll make his first appearance in a red-and-white shirt for the U21s on Monday night and is expected to be firmly in the frame when the first team return to action against Hull City later this month.
Eliezer Mayenda should also be back from a minor muscle problem for that game, giving Le Bris some welcome depth and variety in forward areas. Though Dan Ballard is still recovering from an ankle problem, he is still at this stage expected to be back in action at that point. Milan Aleksic could also closer to making his debut, though his integration will be impacted by his international duties with Serbia.
“They now have time to develop and get ready to perform,” Le Bris said.
“With Aaron, we didn’t want to rush the process. He was on the bench, and we thought that maybe by being there, he could be useful for the team. But it was too high risk [to bring him on] because he probably needs to play for 45 minutes with the U21s. Then after that, maybe 60 minutes or 65 in the next game.
“For Milan, that is really the case as well. Hopefully, he will be playing with his national team and that will give him time to develop and grow. He also needs to find a link with the team here because it is a new experience and hopefully we will have two, three or four more players back for the team soon. That will be important for the squad.”
Salis Abdul Samed is not expected to be ready for the trip to Hull at this stage as he recovers from an injury.
