Sunderland have seen six senior players depart for AFCON this week

Amid the excitement and enthusiasm that greeted Sunderland's extensive recruitment drive, there was one doubt that began to nag away at the club's supporters.

What will we do during AFCON? Even as Régis Le Bris's exciting new-look side began to settle into shape during pre-season, it was obvious that he would go for a number of weeks without a strong core of his settled XI when the tournament rolled around. When you asked Le Bris or any of the other key figures in Sunderland's hierarchy about this looming issue, you would invariably receive a wry smile or a shrug. Which shouldn't be mistaken as blasé or unbothered. It was more just a case of accepting the reality of the situation.

AFCON would be a challenge, clearly, but Sunderland were trying to build a new team almost from scratch in a ferociously competitive transfer market. Their view was that they simply had to sign the best players that were available to them. The gamble was in hoping that their contribution would be so significant across the rest of the campaign that the batch of games they would miss across December and potentially January would ultimately not matter in the grander scheme of the season. Well, as six players depart to represent their nation this week, that gamble looks to have paid off handsomely. 26 points is an exceptional return from 16 games, particularly in the context of how much newly-promoted sides have tended to struggle in recent seasons. Le Bris, his staff and his players would be the first to tell you that there is still an awful lot of work to do to get to that initial target of 40 points and beyond, but even the most optimistic of Sunderland supporters would have struggled to have foreseen this scenario in the summer.

Has the benefits of having Reinildo outweighed signing an inferior defender who would have been available for 38 games? Undoubtedly. Has the investment in Noah Sadiki, both for this season and beyond, been worth the frustration of losing him for these few weeks ahead? Clearly.

Internally, the messaging has also been very different. Where from the outside this is understandably seen as a hurdle, internally Sunderland have tried to present this as an opportunity. The players who have struggled for minutes so far this season are now being presented with a major opportunity, and Sunderland are hoping that the work they have been putting in behind the scenes to ready these players for the intensity of the Premier League will now pay off. The togetherness of the group has been apparent all season, not just in the starting XI but amongst the players who feel they should have had more opportunities on the pitch. Sunderland feel that this is the moment to make that unity and spirit count. It's easy to say that when there is a relatively significant gap to the bottom three of course, but there is a genuine belief that those who will come into the squad will be ready and better for the more steady exposure they've had to the top tier. They'll also be coming into a side still packed with confident and high-performing players, which is perhaps the key reason why this period doesn't look quite as daunting as it once did.

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Why the picture looks far brighter for Sunderland than it did in the summer

Though losing six players is a major blow, Sunderland's squad remains in a pretty decent place. Simon Adingra's absence from the Ivory Coast squad will be a bitter blow to the player personally after his starring role last time out, but gives Le Bris an unexpected option in what looked like being the biggest problem position. Though it is still too early to tell how they will fare at the very highest level, Romaine Mundle and Dennis Cirkin's injury comebacks have also so far gone to plan, meaning both can play a part in the weeks ahead even if that is from the bench initially. Habib Diarra has been a major absentee of late but it means Sunderland are better prepared for his absence, with Enzo Le Fée starting to find his feet in central midfield.

Then there is Lutsharel Geertruida. Though not yet a regular, Sunderland's deadline-day addition has already had a positive impact at the club and he now looks set for a major role in the weeks ahead. He brings quality, experience but most importantly in this phase of the season he brings major versatility. As Le Bris weighs up how best to set his team out with all these key absences, he knows he has ready and waiting a top-level player who can drop into midfield, play at wing back or full back, or in central defence. The flexibility this gives Le Bris both at the start of games and within them could be vital.

There's no doubt that this spell is going to push Sunderland to their limits. Le Bris isn't going to be able to rotate as significantly as he might otherwise have wanted to do during the busiest time of the campaign, and one or two injuries or suspensions in certain areas will leave the team stretched in the extreme. It still feels like this has the potential to be a period of the season where both performances and points return could easily dip. Sunderland's strong start, though, means they can take on the challenge on the front foot. They're in a better position than anyone could have dared hope for in the build up to the season.

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