Jack Ross reveals when Aiden McGeady and Max Power will return to Sunderland action

Power had to be taken off early in the 2-1 play-off final defeat to Charlton Athletic due to an ankle problem.

He is recovering at the Academy of Light but is unlikely to be ready to face Oxford United.

McGeady played through the pain barrier towards the end of last season after suffering a broken bone in his foot, an injury that required a significant period of rest this summer.

He returned to the Academy of Light this week but is not yet in full training.

“Aiden will hopefully be able to train at some point in pre-season but at the moment he is still a couple of weeks away from joining in full training,” Ross said.

“He'll miss Thursday and Saturday.

“The earliest he could potentially be involved would be Portugal but even then, it might be too soon.

“Max Power will probably struggle to make the start of the season.

“He got quite a nasty injury actually, an ankle injury that takes quite a long time to heal.

“Max is in really good condition and looks after himself really well, it's just that the injury takes time to settle.

“He's possibly another three or four weeks away.”

McGeady, of course, played no part in pre-season last year due to injury.

He came straight back into the first team set-up at Burton Albion in September, going on to have a hugely successful campaign.