Millwall handed big fitness boost ahead of Sunderland Stadium of Light clash

After this weekend’s round of fixtures the Championship shuts down for three weeks due to the World Cup break.

Sunderland return to action Saturday, December 3, when Millwall head to Wearside.

Ahead of the game, Millwall have been handed a fitness boost, Hutchinson revealing he should be free from his hamstring problem by then.

He said: “We knew I wasn’t going to be fit for Preston but I’d be fit for Sunderland.

“So anywhere getting back between that was the option. Obviously there can be setbacks that happen between now and then but its coming on well.

“If the games continued as normal then I’d probably be looking to get back a lot earlier than Sunderland. The games have dictated the timescale rather than the injury itself,” added the experienced defender.

“It always happens when I start to feel good and that the balance in the team was right,” said Hutchinson. “I started to go into the games confident and there was a good atmosphere around the squad.

“We were looking a real threat. So when the injury came along I was just devastated. It came at a time, not that there is ever a good one, that I probably least needed it.

“We needed the run [unbeaten] and it’s helped us get back to more what we’re all about. I know we haven’t won the last three but we’ve had that defensive resilience about us – the determination, work-rate and effort of knowing what it’s like to play for this club.

“Maybe we came away from that a little bit at the start of the season. Although we’ve not won the last three there have been promising signs that we’re going in the right direction for what we are as a club and how we’re going to pick up results in this league.”

Sunderland travelled to Birmingham City on Friday evening ahead of the break in Championship fixtures.

Tony Mowbray will be hoping to welcome the likes of Ross Stewart back after the break.