Sunderland are looking to bounce back from a very disappointing FA Cup defeat on Tuesday

Régis Le Bris is hoping that he will have a number of key senior players back in the squad as Sunderland bid to bounce back from their shock FA Cup exit at Port Vale on Sunday.

The Black Cats face another tough Premier League assignment on Saturday when Brighton visit the Stadium of Light, Fabian Hurzeler's side currently 14th in the table but having enjoyed a weekend without a fixture as Sunderland were dumped out the cup. Le Bris was without ten senior players for that game, his substitute's bench made up predominantly of U21 players. While a number of players will be assessed in training this week, there's a good chance that the head coach could have have of those back in his squad on Saturday.

First and foremost, Sunderland will be bolstered significantly by the returns of Trai Hume and Noah Sadiki, who were suspended for that cup game. Both can expect to come straight back into the starting XI, with Sadiki crucial to Sunderland both in terms of his energy to press and his ability to carry the ball into the final third. Where Hume returns will depend on the availability of Le Bris's other full back, but he was excellent at left back at both Bournemouth and Leeds and will play there again if required.

Granit Xhaka is also expected to be in contention to return to the starting XI, having been limited to substitute roles against both Bournemouth and Port Vale. Sunderland were ultra-cautious with Xhaka on a poor pitch at Vale Park, something which Le Bris believes will benefit the team between now and the end of the campaign.

"It's important [to manage Granit]," Le Bris said after the 1-0 defeat.

"I think the team is better with him but we had three games in a week. It was really important to manage his load. We didn't take the risk until at the end, because we know that he can change just a bit the dynamic. But for the future of Sunderland, we need Granit in good shape."

If Xhaka is able to start as expected after a full week of recovery and training, then Enzo Le Fée will be able to revert to the left-wing role he impressed in at Bournemouth and Leeds and Le Bris will be much closer to his preferred starting XI.

There is a possibility of further boosts this week, depending on training. In a surprise boost, Le Bris revealed at his pre-match press conference last Friday that Brian Brobbey had that day resumed running on the Academy of Light pitches, potentially paving the way for him to train fully this week against Brighton. Sunderland will have to be careful with his minutes in a bid to ensure he fully recovers from that minor groin issue, but it would be a massive boost if he is able to start or make an impact from the bench.

Le Bris also revealed that Reinildo was due to resume running over the weekend, which again could clear his return to training this week. While it might be a push for him to go straight into the starting XI after a month out with a knee injury, his experience and quality in the squad could be vital. Nordi Mukiele is also due to resume running this week, at the very least a huge boost ahead of the Tyne-Wear derby even if this weekend comes to soon. Though not yet back in full training, Dennis Cirkin is also closing on a return from a minor hamstring injury to further boost the depth of the group.

Le Bris will give an update on goalkeeper Robin Roefs at his pre-match press conference later this week, but at this stage it's thought that Brighton's visit will likely come too soon. Bertrand Traoré will be absent, with Sunderland weighing up whether he needs surgery on a knee injury. Either way, he's expected to be out for a number of weeks.

Romaine Mundle and Jocelin Ta Bi are longer-term absentees, and could both potentially miss the rest of the campaign after surgery on hamstring and ankle injuries respectively.

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The early Brighton team news with key winger a major early debut

From a Brighton perspective, the major injury concern is Kaoru Mitoma. The winger was forced off at half time with an ankle injury during the 1-0 defeat to Arsenal, and though Hurzeler said afterwards there was no significant issue, he is a major early doubt for Saturday.

"He couldn't continue the game, so that was disappointing for us because I think he showed a good performance in the first half," Hurzeler said.

“Now we have to wait for the scan and then we can say more. But we don't think that it's a big injury.”

Forward Stefanos Tzimas is out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury, while defender Adam Webster is yet to play this season due to a similar injury.

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