Régis Le Bris handed quadruple fitness boost as key Sunderland players emerge injury-free from break

Sunderland’s defence is looking a little depleted ahead of Millwall’s visit to the Stadium of Light in the Championship this weekend.

Régis Le Bris’ side flattered to deceive before the international break, suffering a disappointing home draw against Preston North End before being hammered 3-0 away to Coventry City at the CBS Arena. During the game, left-back Dennis Cirkin had to be replaced after suffering an injury.

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That same issue meant the former Tottenham man had to withdraw from the England U21s squad, and his involvement in this Saturday’s game remains doubtful, though there will be a full update from Le Bris on Thursday during his pre-match press conference.

The Black Cats were also rocked by the news that Trai Hume had returned from international duty with Northern Ireland early after suffering a hip issue, meaning the right-back could also miss the game against Millwall, though his exclusion is not yet certain and there is a chance he could play. With Cirkin and Hume marked as doubts and centre-back Dan Ballard definitely out, the cupboard is looking significantly bearer for Le Bris.

However, the Sunderland head coach was handed an injury boost over the international break, with key defender Chris Mepham emerging from the break unscathed. The Bournemouth loanee defender played the full 90 minutes for Craig Bellamy’s Wales on Tuesday night in a 1-1 draw against North Macedonia.

Eliezer Mayenda won his second cap for Spain’s U21s side on the same night and also looks to have come through his game unscathed, as has Chris Rigg, who scored for England U19s against Portugal before being subbed late in the second half, which was not thought to be injury-related. Jobe Bellingham also played for England’s U21s in their win against Portugal. The attacking midfielder was subbed in the second half, with the switch thought to be tactical rather than anything to do with an injury.

What was the story with Trai Hume’s injury?

Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill confirmed Black Cats full-back Trai Hume would not feature in Tuesday night’s friendly with Sweden and has now returned to the North East for further assessment on a hip injury. The former Linfield defender has become a key part of the Sunderland side over the last two seasons and his form on Wearside has led to him becoming an integral figure within the Northern Ireland squad.

After featuring heavily at several youth levels, Hume earned his 19th senior cap in Friday night’s 1-1 draw with Switzerland - but the Sunderland defender has aggravated a hip problem and the Black Cats will not investigate the injury before deciding on his involvement in Saturday’s game and beyond.

Speaking on Monday, Northern Ireland manager O’Neill said: "He'd not really been training with Sunderland, just playing games and getting through games. He felt quite sore after the game on Friday and we thought rather than put him through that again it was better to send him back to the club and have that investigated. It's not something that we want, or Sunderland want, to drag on. They've got a lot to play for and we would not want him to come here and subsequently miss the games in June either."

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