An injury to Alan Browne could open the door for others in the Sunderland squad

Régis Le Bris has hinted that he could recall Adil Aouchiche and Abdoullah Ba to his Sunderland squad this weekend after Alan Browne picked up a knee injury.

Browne has been ruled out of Middlesbrough’s visit to the Stadium of Light but has not suffered a serious setback and could be back for the trip to Watford next weekend. Aouchiche and Ba have been left out of the last three matchday squads amid a potential move away from the club in the latter stages of the summer window, but have returned to full training after no exit materialised.

Le Bris says he has been pleased with the application of both in training this week and so has left the door open to a potential recall.

"It's possible yes,” Le Bris said.

“We have Adil, Abdoullah, Milan as well is available. So it's a question of the dynamic, the momentum of the game - so we will see. Adil and Abdoullah are with us until the next transfer window, so they have my trust as players of Sunderland and players who have qualities to play and perform in the game. Because they had the opportunity to leave, they needed to reconnect to the project and I like their behaviour in the training sessions this week.”

Le Bris has been handed a major boost this week after Dan Ballard was passed fit for Middlesbrough’s visit after limping off following the 3-2 defeat to Plymouth Argyle last weekend.