Sunderland AFC injury news: Alex Pritchard, Nathan Broadhead, Danny Batth, and Aiden McGeady latest

But how are Sunderland faring up in terms of injuries? Here, we take you through everything you need to know:

Danny Batth

Danny Batth is hopeful he’ll be available for selection when Sunderland host Gillingham this weekend - following the defender’s frustrating injury setback.

The 31-year-old centre-back hasn’t featured under Alex Neil after damaging his ankle in last month’s 2-1 defeat at Cheltenham.

“It just seems to have dragged on and I’ve tried to come back a few times,” Batth told The Echo.

“It's been a niggly injury so we’ve kind of had to let it build up and obviously I’ve been working hard off the pitch in the gym and physically.

“The injury was pretty unfortunate, it was in a blocked tackle. I’ve won the ball and the guy has put all his weight into my ankle.

“There was no massive damage on the scan, it has just been niggling and niggling so hopefully that’s behind me now and I can crack on.

“I’ve just been using the international break to get upto speed.”

Alex Pritchard

Neil is increasingly hopeful that Alex Pritchard will return to play a significant role in the closing stages of the League One campaign.

"Alex is making good progress," Neil said.

"It's not going to be as bad as we first feared.

"We were probably thinking at the time, we were looking at a six to eight week injury. It's certainly not going to be as bad as that.

"That's a positive.

"I don't really want to put a timeframe on it, but it certainly is not in the worst-case scenario and that's pleasing for us."

Aiden McGeady

Neil spoke about McGeady earlier this month.

“The difficulty with Aiden is that he's had a knee issue that's grumbled on,” Neil said last week.

“We've had shoots of recovery where we're thinking he's getting closer, signs that he's coming back onto the grass and taking part in some of the sessions with us.

“Then there's moments where it doesn't feel quite right and it's a small setback, and so that's been a little bit of a cycle for us recently.

“We're trying to get to the end of that so that we can get him back on the grass, and get some consistency in terms of his training time.

“We're hoping that with that one, it's just going to be a matter of time.”

Nathan Broadhead

Neil says he remains hopeful that Nathan Broadhead will return to action for Sunderland soon.

“It's not a massive issue,” Neil said.

“We were disappointed he missed out, because him and Alex [Pritchard] have been very good since I've been here and even before that.

“It was really pleasing to be able to get the win without them, as well.

“I'm not sure how he'll be, we just need to wait and see next week.”

Jordan Willis

A recent 'failed operation' has resulted in Jordan Willis' patella tendon snapping for a second time.

The defender initially suffered the setback last April.

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