Régis Le Bris has issued a Sunderland injury update after the narrow win over Cardiff City

Régis Le Bris is hopeful that Patrick Roberts has avoided a serious injury but confirmed that Salis Abdul Samed is facing around a month on the sidelines with a calf injury.

Roberts was withdrawn midway through the first half of the 2-1 win over Cardiff City with a muscle injury, replaced by Chris Rigg. That was a major concern for the Black Cats as Ian Poveda had been ruled out for a month in the build up to the game.

However, Le Bris said afterwards that while the full extent of the injury is to be determined, the decision to bring him off was more of a precaution.

“Maybe our dip was connected with this injury, it’s hard to say for sure immediately,” Le Bris said.

“We hope it is not too serious, but we will see on Sunday. Patrick is experienced and he felt tight, so we thought the safe thing was to change it. It was more of a precaution than a serious injury.”

Less positive was the news on Samed, who was a surprise absentee from the matchday squad on Saturday. Le Bris confirmed that he will be out until at least the visit of Millwall to the Stadium of Light at the end of the month.

It means that Dan Neil and Jobe Bellingham will have to keep playing despite Le Bris’s desire to give them a rest at some stage, though a strong performance from Alan Browne on Saturday was hugely encouraging for the Black Cats boss.

“Salis is struggling with his calf so we will have to wait until after the international break to have him back in the team,” Le Bris said.

“We are disappointed for him and for the squad because we need depth and at the minute, it’s difficult to refresh in the way we have done with Wilson and Eli, for example. Dan and Jobe have to push more and I have to say that they are really impressive, playing every minute without a break and doing very, very well.

“Alan did very well, he just found it difficult to maintain. You could feel his three months without playing at this level. It’s the same for Romaine and Tommy, they need time to reconnect with the level. But they were good.”

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