Denver Hume opens up on his Sunderland injury setback and reveals how he is preparing for a return

The left-back was a regular during the early months of the campaign and made 16 appearances in all competitions before sustaining a hamstring injury in Lee Johnson’s first game in charge.

And while it was initially hoped that Hume’s injury would keep him out for weeks rather than months – but it eventually became clear that the 24-year-old would be missing for an extended period after a tear was identified.

Now back training, Hume has lifted the lid on his time on the sidelines.

“It’s not been an ideal situation for me at all, but I’m back out training fully now,” he said, speaking to SAFC.com.

“When I first got the injury, the physios thought it was going to be a little less serious than it turned out.

“I progressed quite quickly – working on the grass and doing ball work – but then it reoccurred. The scans showed a Grade 3 tear, a more significant injury than I was obviously hoping.

“I hadn’t had a muscle injury before now in my career, so it probably healed quicker than usual, and the thought was that it would just be a strain. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, and in hindsight we should’ve given it a bit more time.”

Hume has been training with the side over the last fortnight and was earmarked to feature in a behind closed doors on Tuesday – with Johnson keen to get the youngster through a game before restoring him to a League One starting line-up.

And the full-back is keen to ensure that all the necessary steps are taken as he bids to pick up where he left off earlier in the term.

“I’ve been doing plenty more rehabilitation work in the gym, and not rushing anything, so that I’m back to full fitness sooner rather than later,” he explained.

“The season from a personal perspective was going well for me, I felt. I played a lot of games at the start, and I thought I was doing well. You get into the swing of the routine, playing Saturday-Tuesday, and my momentum was carrying on from playing a large number of games last season.”

A message from the Football Clubs Editor:

Our aim is to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative Sunderland AFC coverage 365 days a year.

This depth of coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to, please consider taking out a subscription to our new sports-only package here.

Your support is much appreciated. Richard Mennear, Football Clubs Editor