The fresh Sunderland selection dilemmas Tony Mowbray could face ahead of West Brom - and some more familiar ones

Sunderland's depth is improving rapidly as a busy treatment room begins to clear - and that means good players are missing out.

Though his year out with injury was necessary context Niall Huggins was one such player on Saturday, left out of the squad despite producing a brilliant performance against Birmingham City.

Dennis Cirkin dropped to the bench as Mowbray looked to get the added height of Aji Alese into the side against an opponent who had scored two-thirds of their goals from set plays, while the continuing brilliance of Amad meant Patrick Roberts was also not included in the XI.

They are very welcome and very difficult decisions Mowbray is beginning to face, and his task this week is even more challenging.

Sunderland will face Middlesbrough in a behind-closed-doors game on Wednesday - with a number of players expected to feature and hand their coach even more to think about ahead of West Brom's visit.

The Baggies endured a woeful start to the season but are improving rapidly under new head coach Carlos Corberan and given the quality in their ranks, Mowbray has already warned that it will be a big test for his side.

So who could return to bolster the squad - and what might that mean for the make up of the matchday 18? We explain the latest here…

1. IS ROSS STEWART READY AND IF SO - FOR HOW LONG

Stewart was close to making the bench on Saturday and the striker himself felt he was ready to return, but after just two full training sessions Mowbray was advised by the medical staff that he would be taking a risk by including him. Conscious of the Scot's long-term importance, the head coach opted to proceed with caution.

The fitness and form of Ellis Simms will likely allow Mowbray to integrate Stewart steadily, but if he comes through this week of training and the game against Middlesbrough on Wednesday - he will be on the bench for West Brom.

The question is how long he'll be able to feature for - and who makes way on the bench. Having been left out of the squad before the World Cup break, Leon Dajaku would at this stage look most vulnerable.

2. WILL THERE BE ROOM FOR JEWISON BENNETTE IN THE SQUAD

Costa Rica bounced back from a dire defeat to Spain in their opening World Cup game to stay in the hunt for qualification up until the closing stages.

Having had decent game time across the group stage, Bennette should return to Wearside sharp and ready to go. The winger has shown his explosive pace and talent since signing in the latter stages of the summer window - but competition for places in the squad is rising.

The stunning form of Amad has edged Patrick Roberts onto the bench, a source of inner conflict for Mowbray who rates Roberts highly and wants to get them both into the starting XI if he feels his side will be in a position to dominate the ball. The upshot for Bennette is that he might have to edge past Elliot Embleton to get into the 18 - and that is a tall order. The academy graduate has made some big goal contributions over the course of the campaign so far and brings a lot of versatility which is a very welcome attribute to have when looking to change a game.

It is not yet clear when Bailey Wright will return after he and his family suffered a bereavement during the World Cup - Mowbray has said the club will be there to support their immensely-popular defender.

3. CAN EDOUARD MICHUT GET FIT AND FORCE HIS WAY IN

Sunderland have not yet been able to get to the bottom of the injury that has sidelined Michut since he impressed from the bench in the 1-1 draw with Luton Town, but the midfielder told Mowbray last week he expected to be back ahead of the West Brom game.

Mowbray is hoping so. He has an abundance of dangerous and talented midfielders but they are all best and most comfortable operating high up the pitch. Michut is the one who can dictate from a little deeper, whether that be alongside Evans or in offering valuable cover for him.

Michut's return will again increase competition for a place on the bench, with Jay Matete very unlucky to miss out on Saturday after some important cameos in helping his side protect points on the road before the World Cup break.

Abdoullah Ba has been understandably consistent since his arrival on Wearside, but his clear talent and quality on the ball makes him very difficult to leave out entirely.

AND ONE EVEN BIGGER DILEMMA ON THE HORIZON...

Daniel Ballard is highly unlikely to be available for the visit of West Brom as unlike Stewart, he was as of last week yet to rejoin his team-mates in full training.However, Mowbray said in the immediate aftermath of the win over Millwall that the defender who made such an impression in his first two appearances 'wasn't far behind'. That raised some hope of him being involved over the festive period and would make the squad look even stronger still.

That will also make for some really tough calls for Mowbray, whose defensive unit have in the last three games stood up to some big challenges and delivered results.