Sunderland boss issues Timothée Pembélé fitness update and when he could feature

Tony Mowbray says deadline-day signing Timothée Pembélé is making encouraging progress towards full fitness but says he does not need to rush the full back.

Pembélé joined from PSG having missed much of last season with an ACL injury.

The 21-year-old did return to competitive action in the closing stages of the campaign but arrived on Wearside short of full fitness. The club designed a bespoke programme for their new arrival, which initially meant he was not training with his new team mates.

Mowbray says the youngster is now taking part in training sessions, but that the club want to keep building the strength in his previously injured leg before exposing him to competitive football.

"I don't think he's too far away," Mowbray said.

"We're just working to keep strengthening that leg [from his ACL injury], so it would be a risk to play him while that process in ongoing. If we don't keep doing that strengthening then there's every chance when he starts to play he'll break down.

"He joins in full training now and he is now, but obviously in training it's an hour-and-a-half where you are stopping and starting. It's very different from a football match where in the first minute you might have to sprint full on and make a slide tackle on somebody.

"He's getting there, we just have to be a little bit cautious and while we have Trai [Hume] doing so well in his position, we don't need to rush it. We can just focus on getting that process right."

Mowbray is hoping to have a significantly improved injury situation after the international break, with Aji Alese and Eliezer Mayenda both likely to be available to make their first appearances of the season at some stage.

"They are both not far away, Mowbray said last week.

"An educated guess would suggest that they will be back after the international break, because that means we are not rushing them.

"Let them get confident, let them trust their bodies, then we will have to probably put them in an U21 game for a bit and then they will be up and running again."

Dennis Cirkin is also expected to be fit following his hamstring injury, while Bradley Dack and Pierre Ekwah could return this week.