Sunderland double injury boost as Wilson Isidor absent, Jules Ahoka returns amid Dan Ballard & Thomas Meunier blows
Sunderland received positive injury news at the Academy of Light, although several first-team players were missing from Wednesday's open training session.
Sunderland have been handed a double injury boost ahead of their Europa League clash with Torreense, although several first-team players were absent from training on Wednesday.
Brian Brobbey and Habib Diarra were both involved in first-team training at the Academy of Light on Wednesday morning as Régis Le Bris put his players through their paces ahead of Thursday’s European fixture in Portugal. The Sunderland Echo was in attendance at the open training session, where Brobbey and Diarra were spotted working with their teammates following their recent injury setbacks.
Brobbey has been recovering from a hamstring injury sustained while on international duty with the Netherlands in September, while Diarra has also been sidelined with a hamstring problem. Their involvement represents encouraging progress, although it remains to be seen whether either player will be available for selection against Torreense.
There were, however, several notable absentees. Dan Ballard and Thomas Meunier were both missing from the session and are expected to sit out Thursday’s game.
Wilson Isidor was another player who was not spotted during the session. The Haitian international has recently been away representing his country but started Sunderland’s last game against Brighton, with Le Bris set to be asked about his availability at Wednesday’s press conference.
Romaine Mundle also remained absent as he continues his recovery from injury. Jules Ahoka was back with the first-team group following a slightly extended international break. Chemsdine Talbi and Juan Riquelme Angulo also participated in the session, despite neither player being included in Sunderland’s Europa League squad for the league phase.
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Meanwhile, Ukrainian forward Timur Tutierov was the only member of Sunderland’s Under-21 squad involved in first-team training. The Black Cats travel to Portugal looking to build on their opening Europa League victory over AZ Alkmaar, with Le Bris hoping his side can bounce back from Saturday’s disappointing Premier League defeat against Brighton.
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