Jenson Seelt is continuing his comeback from a long-term knee problem.

Sunderland defender Jenson Seelt will continue his comeback from injury this afternoon after being named in Graeme Murty’s U21s starting XI for their Premier League 2 clash with West Brom.

The Dutchman has not played for the first team since last season after suffering a serious knee injury that required surgery. He has, however, been on the bench for Regis Le Bris’ senior squad twice in recent weeks - once against Luton Town, and again against Sheffield Wednesday on Friday evening.

Alongside those watching briefs, Seelt has been included in Murty’s development team on occasion too, playing 90 minutes in a 5-0 demolition of Wolves last month and lasting 45 minutes of a Premier League International Cup clash with Benfica B in January. And the 21-year-old will be back in action on Monday as he lines up for the Black Cats against the Baggies in the West Midlands.

Speaking about Seelt’s rehabilitation during a press conference last week, Le Bris said: “Jenson is much closer than before, for sure. He still needs game time because after so long out, he needs time to recover his level. His body changed during his time out, he's more mature and powerful now. He just needs game time. His performances in training are really good."

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Addressing Seelt’s recent outings for the U21s, head coach Murty said: “I think I said it before after the Benfica game. He's someone who's taking his downtime or his time off the pitch as an opportunity to become stronger, to become bigger. He looks physically bigger. He looks very, very, very strong. So, all he's going to need is the finer detail of his movement patterns, of reacting to the stimulus of the ball.

“Reacting to an opponent, and the more that we can layer that up and the more intense challenges, the better level of opposition we can give him, the better he's going to be and the better he's going to feel. I think he's feeling really good. He's really, really grateful and he's fantastic to have around the group.”

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