Sunderland tease major injury boost in behind-scenes reveal - while Spurs confirm big setback

Sunderland have been handed a major boost ahead of their return to Premier League action after Robin Roefs was spotted in training at the Academy of Light.

Roefs has been absent since the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth in February with a hamstring injury, and was not involved with the Netherlands during the recent international break. Sunderland have posted a number of images of today's training session on their social media accounts, with Roefs pictured in action. It's not yet clear whether Roefs will be fully fit to face Spurs at the Stadium of Light on Sunday, though that has been the target. Though Melker Ellborg has made a steady start to his career at Sunderland following his January move from Malmo, Roefs' return would represent a major boost for the Black Cats ahead of the final Premier League fixtures.

Reinildo and Enzo Le Fée were both pictured in action, and will be for greater involvement on Sunday after featuring briefly but significantly from the bench against Newcastle United before the break. Nordi Mukiele was also involved in the session having been an unused sub in the Tyne-Wear derby win on his return from a calf injury.

Dan Ballard remains a major doubt for Sunday's game with a hamstring issue, while the clash is expected to come too soon for wingers Bertrand Traoré, Nilson Angulo, Romaine Mundle and Jocelin Ta Bi. Angulo, however, has resumed some individual work on the Academy of Light pitches.

Roberto De Zerbi, meanwhile, has been handed a major blow ahead of his first game in charge. Ghana international Mohammed Kudus has suffered a setback in his return from a quad issue, having initially hoped to return at the Stadium of Light. While the extent of the setback is not yet clear, there are some concerns that he may miss the rest of the campaign.

A statement from Spurs said: “We can confirm that Mohammed Kudus has suffered a setback in his return from injury. The Ghana international forward suffered a significant quad injury during our Premier League fixture against Sunderland in January. He had returned to team training during the past week, however will now require further specialist review and, potentially, surgery. We will provide any relevant further updates in due course.”

De Zerbi has a number of injury issues ahead of the game, with Spurs now just one point clear of the bottom three. Both head coaches will hold their pre-match press conferences on Friday afternoon, where updates on the injury situation is expected.

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Why Sunderland have much to play for in the final seven games of the campaign

While Sunderland’s Premier League status is all but secured, there is still plenty to play for in the final seven games as they bid for a top-half finish and a potentially sensational European qualification.

There’s also a major financial incentive to a strong finish, as a quarter of the funds clubs receive from the Premier League are based on finishing positions. Consider that Spurs finished 17th in the Premier League last season, which earned them a merit payment of £14.4 million. Manchester United finished two places above them in 15th, and earned a merit payment of £15.9 million. From there, the prize quickly grows. Crystal Palace earned £23.8 million for their 12th place finish, while Brentford's top-half finish earned them an impressive £29.1 million. So the difference between seven places was as much as £15 million last season, giving Sunderland an additional incentive to finish with a flourish. Brighton earned £34.5 million for finishing 8th in the final table, a sum that would represent a significant boost to Sunderland's revenues. The figures of course vary from campaign to campaign dependent on the TV deals in place both in the UK and abroad, but aren't anticipated to change too much this time around.

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