'He’s not...' - Nick Barnes delivers Sunderland injury update on Trai Hume after Northern Ireland issue
Nick Barnes has provided an update on the Sunderland right-back ahead of the Millwall game this weekend
Trai Hume has been tipped to make the Millwall game in the Championship at the Stadium of Light this weekend.
Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill confirmed Hume would not feature in Tuesday night’s friendly with Sweden and has now returned to the North East for further assessment on a hip injury. The former Linfield defender has become a key part of the Sunderland side over the last two seasons, and his form on Wearside has led to him becoming an integral figure within his country’s squad.
The Echo has launched a new WhatsApp SAFC channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates directly to your phone. Simply click this link to join our SAFC WhatsApp channel.
After featuring heavily at several youth levels, Hume earned his 19th senior cap in Friday night’s 1-1 draw with Switzerland - but the Sunderland defender has aggravated a hip problem and the Black Cats will not investigate the injury before deciding on his involvement in Saturday’s game and beyond.
Speaking on Monday, Northern Ireland manager O’Neill said: "He'd not really been training with Sunderland, just playing games and getting through games. He felt quite sore after the game on Friday and we thought rather than put him through that again it was better to send him back to the club and have that investigated. It's not something that we want, or Sunderland want, to drag on. They've got a lot to play for and we would not want him to come here and subsequently miss the games in June either."
However, speaking on Total Sport, BBC pundit Nick Barnes delivered his verdict on whether Hume would be fit enough to start against Millwall. He explained: “He’s not in the squad. Slight hip injury. The bottom line is; the club let him go, I don’t think there’ll be a real issue with Hume returning and being involved against Millwall… I think he’ll be fine.”
Barnes went on to add: “I think the fact they allowed Hume to travel means that they were not overly concerned about the injury, but they were concerned that they didn’t want him playing two games, so he’s not involved at all tonight having played on Friday.”
Your next Sunderland read:Kieran Maguire explains Kyril Louis-Dreyfus' £8.2m decision in Sunderland's recent accounts