Régis Le Bris outlines next stage of Sunderland's Enzo Le Fée comeback plan

Régis Le Bris expects Enzo Le Fée to step up his comeback this weekend but insists he will continue to be careful with the Sunderland loanee.

Le Fée has been used as an impact substitute in his three games since returning from injury, and made a positive contribution against Swansea City despite the Black Cats falling to a 1-0 defeat on Saturday. The midfielder will get more minutes under his belt over the Easter weekend as Sunderland travel to Bristol City on Friday, before Blackburn Rovers visit the Stadium of Light on Monday.

The AS Roma loanee could get his first start since February in one of those games but his minutes will continue to be monitored carefully.

"We don't want to rush the process," Le Bris said.

"He played 30 minutes today and will probably play a bit more at the end of next week. Slowly and gradually we will have the best result possible. Salis is back and it was possible to manage Leo as well. Everything is good about the management of the squad. Obviously we would have preferred to win today but it wasn't possible.

"We don't want to rush the process. He played 30 minutes on Saturday and will probably play a bit more at the end of next week.S lowly and gradually we will have the best result possible. Salis is back and it was possible to manage Leo [Hjelde] as well. "Everything is good about the management of the squad. Obviously we would have preferred to win on Saturday but it wasn't possible.

"It wasn't possible to build Enzo gradually when he first arrived, the left side was completely open and he played many games. It wasn't possible to manage his minutes and we don't to repeat... I won't say mistake because the race was open but we just have a different opportunity now. We can manage him gradually."

Sunderland head coach explains Harrison Jones call

Le Bris's cautious approach to bringing Le Fée back into the fold led to a first league start for academy graduate Harrison Jones against Swansea City, and the youngster could be in line for more minutes over the weekend after impressing the Sunderland head coach behind the scenes.

"We wanted to give minutes for younger players and they can feel the level," he said.

"It's not just about training with the team, it's about the experience on the pitch. It was positive for him. Young players have to keep growing. The core of our squad isn't massive, so we have to create opportunities for younger players."

Your next Sunderland read: The revealing figures that show Sunderland's agent fee spending - and how they compare to Championship rivals