Régis Le Bris has provided an update on Jenson Seelt, Ian Poveda and Trey Ogunsuyi ahead of Millwall

Sunderland head coach Régis Le Bris has revealed defender Jenson Seelt has suffered a fresh injury set-back.

The news means Le Bris is struggling in defence ahead of the game against Millwall this weekend. Trai Hume looks likely to play through a hip injury but left-backs Dennis Cirkin and Leo Hjelde are expected to miss the clash against the Lions. Dan Ballard will also be absent as the defender continues his injury rehab.

Seelt came on for Cirkin in the game against Coventry City before the international break. The Dutchman had not played for the first team since last season after suffering a serious knee injury that required surgery. The former PSV man had been working his way back into contention and would have been a candidate to play against Millwall.

However, Sunderland’s head coach has now confirmed that the 21-year-old has suffered another set-back on his road to recovery. “It's a little bit tough for him because he's returned from competition with such a long injury.” Le Bris said about Seelt ahead of the game against Millwall in the Championship at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.

He continued: “He doesn't feel good with his knee, with different small problems, so I think we will have to wait maybe one or two weeks to be very clear and fresh, and I don't know if it will be at 100 per cent at the end of the season, we'll see. Asked if Seelt was likely to feature against Millwall, Le Bris said: “No, probably not.”

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Le Bris was also asked about the situation surrounding attackers Trey Ogunsuyi and summer signing Ian Poveda, who have both been missing from the Frenchman’s recent matchday squads with their own injury issues. The Sunderland boss remained coy on a specific timeframe but hinted that the pair will be available soon. When asked about the pair, Le Bris said: “They won’t be long.”

Le Bris confirmed that under-21s player Oli Bainbridge could be in contention to make his squad against Millwall given Sunderland’s defensive issues and his impressive performances for Graeme Murty’s youth sides in recent weeks in the Premier League 2. “Yes, it's an option. He trains with us regularly now,” Le Bris said. Sunderland’s head coach also confirmed that Joe Anderson could be in line to make his first start of the Championship season against the Lions this weekend.

Le Bris added midfielder that Enzo Le Fee would likely return next week but will not feature against Alex Neil’s side on Saturday. Jayden Danns also remains absent from Le Bris plans currently due to injury as does Salis Abdul Samed.

“I think it's part of the journey and obviously we'll assess our squad at the end of the season and robustness is very important for the high level and especially in Championship,” Le Bris said when asked about Sunderland’s injury frustrations this season. “I think it's very important for 46 games.”

He continued: “If you are not robust, it's very difficult to be efficient in that league. But we know that injuries are still part of the journey, so for me, it's not unusual and, yes, frustration for the coaches, for the players, but we have to manage.”

Will Régis Le Bris change formation against Millwall?

“Not really at this stage of the season because I think we build strong foundations in this 4-4-2, 4-3-3 and the knowledge of the team is now really strong,” Le Bris said when asked about potentially changing formation. It's more about reinforcement and belief and adjustments around the structure than changing everything for me. Sometimes it could be useful.

“We showed, for example, when we used Eli rather than Riggy in the ten position, we can change a little bit the dynamic of the team but the structure is the same and I think we'll keep going. We'll keep the same structure. So this is our first idea and I think we have to be consistent on that part. And then after that, we know that we have many versatile players with good experience, and the ability to play one, two or three games in a row in different positions so I'm not too worried about that.

“We have to respect Millwall because they have a strong team, they are really well organised, strong out of possession, good to exploit the spaces when they can recover the ball and it will be a tough game again so for me the main focus is always us. We have to take into account different elements of the opponent but we have to play our best football again and it wasn't the case at Coventry, it was really clear so our main focus is that one, only that one.”

Your next Sunderland read: Sunderland boss Régis Le Bris details triple injury blow and provides Enzo Le Fee update ahead of Millwall