Sunderland’s injury issues mounted during their defeat to Brighton on Saturday

Régis Le Bris says Dan Ballard was forced off in the second half of Sunderland’s defeat to Brighton with a hamstring injury.

The Sunderland head coach said he was hopeful that the issue wasn’t serious as the club’s injury issues continue to mount ahead of next weekend’s Tyne-Wear derby. Sunderland had seen Enzo Le Fee and Nilson Angulo ruled out ahead of kick off, with the latter expected to be absent for at least a month.

Le Bris also revealed that Wilson Isidor is managing an injury issue, which is why he wasn’t risked in the closing stages even as Sunderland laboured to get back into the game following Yankuba Minteh’s goal midway through the second half.

“It wasn't possible [to bring Wilson on] because he got an injury,” Le Bris said.

“We were really on the edge. We were cautious. We could have pushed him, but it was risky. Rather than taking risks, it was the case for Brian as well. Brian can go all the way, but because we pushed until the end rather than keeping 65-70 minutes because it was the load expected, we can lose another player. At the minute, we are struggling a bit. We are just on the edge, but we try our best to keep the team safe.

“Dan had discomfort with his hamstring, so we hope it isn't too serious. We expect Enzo to be ready for Newcastle, it might be possible. For Nilson, we'll have to wait at least four to six weeks. Reinildo will train with us tomorrow, so that's good news.”

Sunderland remain hopeful that Nordi Mukiele and Robin Roefs will be fit to return for the derby, though they will have a big decision to make on the former.

“Nordi is getting better, we'll see for next week,” Le Bris said.

“It's always the same: you can take the risk, he might play against Newcastle, but if we lose him for eight weeks after, it doesn't make sense. We are always on the edge so we'll try to manage the situation properly.”

Le Bris feels the club’s extensive injury list is likely a knock-on effect of having to operate with such a small squad for large parts of the campaign.

“We had a really strong period, we played with a short group during the AFCON,” Le Bris said.

Then probably we went into a vicious cycle. It's hard to break this cycle because you push players who were injured a bit earlier than expected. Then you can be just on the limit for an injury. We are in this cycle right now, so we just stay together, try to manage the situation, try to learn, keep good resilience.”

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Régis Le Bris delivers verdict on Brighton defeat

Le Bris said he was pleased with aspects of his team’s performance against Brighton, and that small margins had gone against them. Minteh’s mishit cross flew into the back of the net just minutes after Chris Rigg had a goal ruled out of for offside early in the second half.

“Key moments [made the difference] First of all, I think it was a good Premier League game against a strong opponent, well-established in the Premier League, with a clear identity,” Le Bris said.

“We had good intentions to manage the way they built up the play. Struggled a bit, probably for 20 minutes, because they created one or two chances. After that, the lads kept going with the same intentions. I think the final part of the first half was good. We were dominant. We didn't score, but I think it was a good part of our game.

“We had the opportunity at the beginning of the second half to change the game and disallow for a few centimetres. The opposite then happened, so it is what it is. Football is sometimes a bit harsh and unpredictable. But I appreciated the willingness, the desire to stay consistent until the end. We tried. Obviously, our end product is not the best at the moment. We have many young lads and this part of the pitch is probably the hardest one. We need to keep going.”

Sunderland struggled badly to create chances late on but Le Bris feels his stretched squad deserve support.

“The group is small - we have many injuries,” Le Bris said.

“It's a young squad, new in the Premier League. We reached 40 points last week.It was a brilliant game at Leeds. It gives the opportunity for the young lads to experience the Premier League. I think their character and resilience was good today, but they need to learn.

“They need to experience different situations to get better. At the moment, it's really important to support them because Chris Rigg is a good example. He's 18 and he's learning.If you compare the way he played at the beginning of the season and now, you can feel that he's learning, he's improving and he needs support and time for that.”

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