Sunderland scheduled to return to training but Lee Johnson has warning ahead of Accrington Stanley game

The club had shut its training base for 10 days with players isolating and training at home following the recent Covid-19 outbreak.

There has been a total of 13 cases but the positive results were staggered over a few days so a return to training will be phased anyway and it also obviously depends on the health and fitness of the individual players too.

The club said last week that the squad was scheduled to return to training today ahead of the trip to Stanley Tuesday.

Head coach Lee Johnson last week outlined the various issues the club is having to contend with though.

When asked about the Stanley game, speaking last week, he said: “[The Accrington game] It depends on when we get back to action.

"First and foremost, our three goalkeepers have all tested positive. So that leaves us in a bit of a pickle, depending on how we recover.

"One in particular has struggled quite a lot and the health and wellbeing of a player has to be at the front of any decision that is made.

"We've also got four senior players who are only able to come out of their isolation on the matchday of the 29th.

"So there's no way they can prepare or train, other than that at home.

“We've had to give them online sessions to do on zoom, which has been interesting and actually really good.

"But we've also done a lot of tactical work online as well, presented some slides just to see what their understanding is of the terminology and what we're trying to coach. I've been very impressed with the players on that front.

"It's going to be a very difficult period for us in terms of trying to gain any kind of consistency, but at the same time, we're doing everything in our control to try and achieve that."

Sunderland postponed three games due to the Covid-19 outbreak including the away game at Shrewsbury Town and home double-header against Blackpool and Hull City.

A message from the Football Clubs Editor

Our aim is to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative Sunderland AFC coverage 365 days a year.

This depth of SAFC coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to, please consider taking out a subscription to our new sports-only package here.

Your support is much appreciated. Richard Mennear, Football Clubs Editor