Sunderland boss gives a big Ross Stewart update as striker makes goalscoring return behind closed doors against Middlesbrough

Ross Stewart is set to make his Sunderland comeback on Monday night after scoring in a behind-closed-doors game against Middlesbrough on Wednesday.
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The striker has been missing since injuring his thigh in the warm up before the two sides faced each other in September, but now looks to be ready to return.

"I think there's a chance we'll see him on Monday," Mowbray said.

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"Ross played around 60 minutes yesterday and scored a really, really good goal very early in that game. They had five or six first-team players playing and we had the lads who hadn't been involved at the weekend - Dennis Cirkin played the whole game. It was mainly about the fitness for both teams.

Sunderland striker Ross StewartSunderland striker Ross Stewart
Sunderland striker Ross Stewart

"It was good for his confidence to be out there and he came through it no problem.

"He'll train in the next few days and I think as a minimum he'll make the bench as long as he feels strong and confident. When players have been out for a while it's not just my decision, I have to make sure the player feels confident in his body.

"At the moment - as long as he trains the next few days he'll be involved on Monday night."

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Mowbray is relishing the chance to potentially pair the Scot with an in-form Ellis Simms somewhere down the line.

"Ross is a really good character, he's always positive and I think he's earned the respect of everyone here because of what he's achieved," he said.

"We're all waiting for him, even though I sometimes try and temper it and have that bit of banter with it, that we shouldn't just expect to suddenly start scoring loads of goals. What I do know is that he works really hard and he knows where the back of the net is.

I'm looking forward to having him back, though I have to say I've just come in from training and Ellis Simms could not miss - he just kept bashing the ball in the back of the net.

"Potentially somewhere down the line we could have them both on the pitch and if we have the right balance, that'll be difficult for the opposition."