The encouraging Sunderland injury news for Régis Le Bris and fans as pre-season training begins

Sunderland head coach Régis Le Bris began work on Monday, with the first team now back in pre-season training.

They will undertake a two-week training block before the first friendlies of the summer on July 14th, when the squad will split to face South Shields and Gateshead. A pre-season tour of Spain follows the following week before the final preparations for the Championship season opener away at Cardiff City.

There have already been some encouraging signs for Le Bris in the opening days of pre-season on the injury front, with a number of last season's notable absentees back out running on the Academy of Light pitches. Dan Neil missed the last three fixtures of the Championship campaign with a significant knee injury, but the influential midfielder has been pictured undergoing the early stages of the pre-season programme as he prepares for the new season.

Jay Matete and Elliot Embleton are also both out on the grass with their team-mates, having seen loan spells at Oxford United and Derby County respectively cut short by injury last season. Both have endured a torrid year or so with injury issues but Sunderland will hope a full pre-season campaign will allow them to get back to their best and push for a first-team place. Dennis Cirkin is also back in training after an injury hit 2023/24. With Aji Alese fit and in good form at the end of last season, what was a problem position for the club last season could be a major strength for Le Bris moving into the new campaign.

Nazariy Rusyn missed the final stages of the season but recently told media in Ukraine that he had been following the club's off-season fitness plan and has been back training with his team-mates. Defenders Jenson Seelt and Niall Huggins are both long-term absentees. Seelt is likely to be absent for a number of months yet and Huggins is not expected to return until next year.