Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris has confirmed that a key midfielder will be missing for next weekend’s game

Régis Le Bris has confirmed that Habib Diarra is likely to miss next weekend's Wear-Tyne derby.

Diarra has been recovering from groin surgery earlier in the season and was always in a race against time to be fit for Newcastle United's visit to the Stadium of Light next Sunday. While the Senegal international is making good progress in his recovery, Le Bris thinks the next game will come too soon.

Le Bris did confirm that he expects Reinildo to be available after missing the 3-0 defeat to Manchester City due to a groin injury.

Le Bris said: "For Rei, it could be okay but for Habib, it would be too short, I think."

Sunderland will have Granit Xhaka and Noah Sadiki available for the game after they avoided picking up a yellow card in the defeat at the Etihad Stadium. Le Bris moved quickly to protect the duo after Phil Foden put the hosts 3-0 up, bringing on Romaine Mundle and Simon Adingra.

Le Bris explained his decision not to introduce Dan Neil in place of one of the midfielders was in a bid to try and improve Sunderland's attacking threat in the game, with Lutsharel Geertruida instead pushing up into midfield.

"Yes, because we tried to stay in the game, to provoke something," Le Bris said.

"I think with offensive players on the side, it was more or less the idea. It didn't work, but we tried."

Luke O'Nien will be absent for the game after picking up a red card for a late challenge on Matheus Nunes, just minutes after his introduction. O'Nien was initially shown a yellow card but was sent off for serious foul play after a VAR review and will be suspended for the next three games.

Arthur Masuaku could be in contention to come back into the squad, despite missing out even with Reinildo absent on Saturday. Le Bris has confirmed that Masuaku could leave the club in January amid a lack of game time, but says he is very much still in contention for selection.

"Maybe, we'll see, [on January departure]" Le Bris said.

"It's just a question of balance on the bench. We made the decision to build this bench in order to have different options. Arthur is still with us."

Dennis Cirkin is also now in contention for a return after getting another 90 minutes under his belt in a 2-1 defeat to Man City for the U21s at Eppleton.

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.

What the Premier League match centre said about Luke O’Nien red card

The Premier League match centre have released a statement explaining the decision to send O’Nien off, saying he had endangered an opponent.

The Premier League match centre tweeted: “After VAR review, the referee overturned the original decision of yellow card to O'Nien and issued a red card for serious foul play. Referee announcement: “After review, Sunderland No.13 commits a challenge which endangers the safety of the opponent. My final decision is red card.”

Your next Sunderland read: Phil Smith's Sunderland player ratings vs Man City as defensive pair score well on tough day with low marks