Elliot Embleton set to come back in to contention as Sunderland head to Doncaster Rovers

The attacking midfielder sat out the defeat to MK Dons on Saturday having completed his first ninety minutes in 14 months during the Papa John’s Trophy clash at Fleetwood Town.

But he has returned to training this week and could form part of the squad that travels to the Keepmoat Stadium this weekend.

Speaking ahead of the Black Cats’ last game Phil Parkinson explained that he missed the visit of MK Dons as a precaution rather than anything more sinister.

"Elliot is still a project going forward, really,” he said.

"As you can imagine, he was very stiff and sore after Tuesday night.

"The likelihood is that he won't be involved this weekend, but there's no fresh injury with that. It's just that when you haven't played for over a year, your body is going to take a while to recover.

"But we're very pleased with him, and psychologically to get him through that game was huge.”

And Embleton could be joined in the squad by other returning players.

Conor McLaughlin and Tom Flanagan could both come back into contention after missing the last two games after being on international duty – but will be assessed upon their return to Wearside given the busy schedule Northern Ireland have endured.

Dan Neil and Brandon Taylor have both also trained with the first-team this week ahead of the visit to Doncaster, with the under-23 side without a fixture.

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 SAFC 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