The Sunderland winger returned to action from the bench against Cardiff City after recovering from an injury

Sunderland winger Tommy Watson returned to action during the Black Cats’ win over Cardiff City last weekend.

The Wearsiders won 2-1 against the Bluebirds at the Stadium of Light in the Championship last Saturday, with Eliezer Mayenda and Chris Mepham scoring for Régis Le Bris’ side.

Sunderland have been boosted in recent weeks by the return to action of Romaine Mundle after a hamstring injury kept the exciting winger out for several months. However, Le Bris has also welcomed back fellow winger Watson to the fold.

The Brighton transfer target replaced Mundle in the second half against Cardiff City and looked sharp as Le Bris’ men managed to get the win. After the game, the 18-year-old boyhood Sunderland fan took to social media to react to his comeback.

On Instagram, Watson said: “Great to be back, +3 points to make it even better.” In the comments section, former Black Cats striker Danny Graham said: “Class mate … great to see u back out there.” Mundle also replied with: “Welcome back,” while Trai Hume responded with a muscle emoji.

During his time on the sidelines, Watson was the subject of a number of bids from Brighton & Hove Albion in the January transfer window, with the clubs ultimately unable to reach an agreement on deadline day. Le Bris admitted to holding talks with Watson as his return nears and spoke in his pre-Cardiff City press conference about how impressed he has been with Watson's maturity.

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“We spoke about everything that happened," Le Bris said. "I think Tommy is clear in his mind. He seems really mature because he had many interests in him, that is true, but at the same time, he was still connected with everything he was doing on a day-by-day basis. If you are a footballer, you can be in a high or a low point, but at the same time, it is always important that you stay connected with your job. Tommy has always done that. He has shown this good quality during the different weeks we have had together."

While Watson could play a major part in the Championship run-in, Le Bris will reintroduce him gradually to action after a number of months on the sidelines. Romaine Mundle is likely to continue as Sunderland's starting left winger, with Watson deployed as an impact substitute as he builds his way up to full match fitness. The pair are then likely to rotate in the closing weeks of the campaign.

“It is true that Tommy is still very young," Le Bris said. "I hope we will have the luxury of Romaine being able to start at the beginning, and then Tommy available for the last few minutes. Maybe ten or 15 minutes to start with, and then after that, we can build it up to 20 or 25. If we have both players available, then we can build things up like that, and that would be a good idea for us.”

What Sporting director Kristjaan Speakman previously said about Brighton’s bid to sign Sunderland winger Tommy Watson

Speaking shortly after the January window closed, sporting director Kristjaan Speakman said the club had no doubt that Watson was focused on making an impact for the Black Cats despite the interest from Brighton and Hove Albion.

"Tommy is like a number of young players that we’ve got, where they’re on the up, they’re highly-rated and ambitious, which we want them to be, and then they get presented with an opportunity," Speakman said in February.

"Ultimately, Tommy didn’t have a decision to make because there wasn’t an agreement between the clubs. If the clubs had agreed, he would have had a decision to make, and you could understand why he would choose to stay, but you could also understand why he might decide to leave. That would be based on his views. But we never got to that point, so it was never really an issue.

“I think Tommy is such a level-headed kid that it’s absolutely not a problem. He’s Sunderland through and through, but he’s also ambitious and wants to get promoted and play in the Premier League with Sunderland. I’ve spoken to him this morning and he’s the usual Tommy Watson – he wants to get back fit and wants to get back to the Stadium of Light, scoring goals."