Sunderland's Jobe Bellingham dilemma ahead of Birmingham City fixture after international recognition

Tony Mowbray will have to reshuffle his Sunderland team for this weekend’s match against Birmingham - with the Black Cats boss facing multiple selection dilemmas.

With first-choice centre-backs Luke O’Nien and Dan Ballard both suspended, after picking up their fifth yellow cards of the season, Mowbray will be forced to alter the side’s backline against Wayne Rooney’s Blues at the Stadium of Light.

Further forward, Jobe Bellingam will be keen to impress against his former club, yet Mowbray and his coaching staff have been monitoring the teenager’s heavy workload in recent weeks, after starting him for the team’s first 15 league games this season.

Bellingham has already racked up 1,154 minutes of Championship football this term, almost double the game time he received for Birmingham’s first team in the whole of last season, when he clocked up 598 minutes in 22 appearances which included just five starts.

Additionally, Bellingham played three matches for England’s under-19s side during October’s international break, which included two 90-minute appearances, after Sunderland allowed the midfielder to represent his country. “The last international break was real touch and go as to whether he went,” said Mowbray before Saturday’s match at Swansea, while admitting the teenager’s extensive game time was a concern. “England wanted him to go and he ended up playing two-and-a-half games. We were trying to rest him after that but because of injuries he had just to keep rolling on.”

Sunderland will face a similar situation regarding Bellingham’s international involvement this month, with England’s under-19s team set to play games against Romania, Japan and Mexico at the Marbella Football Centre in Spain.

When Bellingham returned from England duty in October, Mowbray had planned to take him out of the side, yet Dan Neil’s suspension against Stoke meant the teenager dropped into a deeper midfield role alongside Pierre Ekwah. Bellingham was then set to be given a rest as Sunderland faced Leicester and Norwich, yet Adil Aouchiche, who was going to replace him, picked up a groin injury.

Mowbray could also call upon Alex Pritchard or Bradley Dack, who has recently returned from a hamstring issue, to replace Bellingham in the No 10 position, yet the teenager’s impressive performances will make it hard to leave him out - especially against the club he grew up supporting.

It’s not just Bellingham’s technical ability and athleticism Sunderland would miss either. Without Ballard and O’Nien the Black Cats will lose even more of their aerial presence, with Bellingham, at 6 ft 3, giving the side some much-needed height at set-pieces.  

"At some stage he needs to be given extra time off and he'll get that next week, as well,” added Mowbray when discussing Bellingham’s game time last week. “He's an integral part of this team but we do have to try and factor in some time where he can have a day off his feet."

With just over a quarter of the season gone, Sunderland’s coaches will have to monitor Bellingham’s situation carefully during a long and arduous Championship campaign.