Régis Le Bris drops strong Sunderland selection hint in update on Milan Aleksic's progress

Regis Le Bris has been impressed by Milan Aleksic’s performances in training but insists he will be patient in waiting for the right moment to give him his Sunderland debut.

The youngster has been a regular in the matchday squad since his arrival on deadline day but is yet to make his debut, despite completing an hour for the U21s just over a week ago. Sunderland play their first midweek fixture of the Championship season but despite a demanding schedule of three games in six days, Le Bris has heavily hinted that he is unlikely to rotate heavily either on Tuesday or Friday night.

Winger Tommy Watson got his first league minutes of the season in the latter stages of the 2-1 defeat to Watford and Le Bris says finding the right moment to introduce these players is keen to avoid damaging their confidence. He says that also applies to the new summer signings who have not yet been able to feature regularly, with Ian Poveda returning to the squad at Vicarage Road following a minor thigh injury.

“The new players for example, Ian Poveda, Tommy Watson, Naz.... they are now ready to play but they were either not fit before or did not have a lot of experience at the level,” Le Bris said.

“So the efficiency of the core [of the team] will be important, how we can play with efficiency and less energy [in busy weeks]. For the other players, it is picking the right moment to play them in the team - for the level of the team and for their confidence. For example with a young player if it is too early, they could fail and this picture, this image can stay with them for three, four, five months. It is important to pick the right moment.

“For Tommy and Milan, it is exactly the same question. We trust them because we think they have many qualities and the potential to perform well, to play for Sunderland and give a new profile in our squad. It is still difficult to find the right moment to play. Sometimes you do not have the choice and sometimes we can choose, so for Tommy he had I think 12 minutes on Saturday and this was perfect for him. For Milan, I don't know exactly at the minute. He's good in the training sessions but we still have to make sure it is the right moment and we have Alan Browne now available.”

The only potential change to Le Bris’s side on Tuesday night would be the return of Browne to the starting XI following his recovery from a minor knee injury. Eliezer Mayenda and Dan Ballard are both still absent for Derby County’s visit, while Aaron Connolly and Salis Abdul Samed are not expected to be available for selection until after the upcoming international break.