Jack Ross explains why Lee Cattermole ankle trouble won't affect Sunderland as Max Power shows his class

Cattermole missed the 2-0 win over Bristol Rovers in midweek but is expected to return to the squad to today to face Wycombe Wanderers.

The influential midfielder missed a number of games earlier this year with the issue but has shown his quality in recent league victories.

His partnership with Grant Leadbitter has been one of the key factors behind four consecutive wins and two consecutive clean sheets.

Ross is pleased to have him back and does not expect any major issues as the run-in starts in earnest.

"It's been troubling him a little bit," Ross said.

"It's just managing him through the games. This was always the plan even pre-Plymouth, we knew he wouldn't be involved in midweek [at Bristol Rovers].

"But he's been good, when he's training he's bang at it so it's nice to have him back available.

"It's just that now and again it can give him a bit of a problem," Ross added.

"At this stage of the season it's about managing any issues that players have got properly, whether it's through the training schedule or whether it's through the match schedule.

"We had always planned it so he could manage it properly this week."

To the delight of Ross, Cattermole's absence on Tuesday night did not unduly affect either the balance or the performance of his side.

Max Power returned to the starting XI and impressed, laying on the assist for Will Grigg's opening goal.

"He deserves a lot of credit of that," Ross said.

"I'm a big fan of his as a player and it's frustrating for him at the moment.

"And it's hard for me because he's a good player and one that I rate highly.

"So I was delighted with his performance, I thought he was really good. It was testament to his professionalism and his focus that he could come into the side and produce that level of performance.

"That's really comforting for me as a manager to see that, that hunger to play and do well," he added.

"Players know when they've played well and when they've contributed, and if you'd seen Max at the end of the game I think you'd have seen he knew that, 'I got the opportunity to come in and I was good'. So I was delighted with him."

Power started his Sunderland career in superb form but three red cards, by his own admission, took their toll.

Ross always stood by his summer signing, with one of those reds overturned and another one contentious to say the least.

The Black Cats boss was pleased to see him back to his best, partly as Power finds his feet after that challenging time and partly because the team as a whole is in a better place.

"There was a little bit of that," Ross said.

"But as a group we weren't playing fantastically well, I don't think there was any player who was to blame for that, there were a number who were probably below a certain level, collectively we weren't quite gelling.

"We looked long and hard at it to try and resolve it.

"The pleasing for me is that he's honest about his performance level and he was frustrated by it.

"He wants to play and the manner of his performance the other night was very much back to what it was like earlier in the season."