There was news on the injury and team news front, as well as some key selection hints as the Black Cats look to build on their comfortable win over Norwich City at the Stadium of Light.
He also reacted to an international call up and looked ahead to a tricky game against in-form opposition. Here’s the key updates...
1. AOUCHICHE RETURNS
Mowbray confirmed that Adil Aouchiche is back in full training and will travel to Swansea City for Saturday's game - though at this stage it is not yet clear whether he will return to the squad. Interestingly, Mowbray also revealed that Aouchiche would have made his first start against Leicester City had he not picked up that minor groin problem. "Adil has been back training," Mowbray said. "He was going to start in the game just before he got injured, to be honest. I think he needs to continue his training programme but he's coming with us, yeah." Photo: Frank Reid
2. MAYENDA UPDATE
Mowbray confirmed that having left him out as a precaution last weekend, Eliezer Mayenda has trained fully this week and so will travel to Swansea. He could yet be named on the bench. "We've had Eliezer Mayenda training with us, but he's obviously only had one ninety-minute game in a bounce match against Hibs," Mowbray said. "There's a few lads who have travelled to Southampton to play in the U21s today but Eliezer is going to come with us to Swansea. With his hamstring, sitting on a coach for however long wasn't going to be any good, so he's going to come with us so he can integrate into our group a little more. "I'd say the squad is pretty much going to be the same as it has been." Photo: Frank Reid
3. ALESE UPDATE
Though not yet ready to return this weekend, Mowbray had a positive update on Aji Alese who is closing in on a return later this month. "Aji is out on the grass every day now so I would anticipate that he's not too far away from joining us in the main group," Mowbray said. "I would imagine that by the time of the next international break he'll be back in full training and competing for a place, though of course somewhere in that period he'll want some U21 time. But he's not far away now." Photo: Frank Reid
4. RIGG HEADS FOR THE WORLD CUP
One of the key updates was that Chris Rigg will be unavailable for the next few fixtures as he heads out for the U17 World Cup. Mowbray said that the club were thrilled with the news and discussed the 16-year-old's impressive development more broadly. "I'm delighted for him. Disappointed he'll miss a few games of course but it's a fantastic achievement for him. "It's a fine balance, we had a long chat with him and told him how delighted we were for him that he was going to get that fantastic opportunity. He also understands that he'll be away and let's hope the results are positive in that time, and it might mean he finds it difficult to get back in the group. Hopefully he can be successful while he's away. "It's richly deserved, Chris warrants being around our first-team squad every day and getting on the pitch to impact games. In the next few years, he'll warrant a starting place I'm pretty sure. I hope he stays he a number of years and fulfils his potential and helps the club progress. "His personality... he's a warrior and he wants to win every tackle, every 5-a-side, every contest he's in. That's pretty unique, it's Roy Keane-esque and he's a nice, nice kid - just not so much when he's got his boots on. "Chris is really happy with where he is at the moment, we've had those conversations. I don't think yet he's in front of Neil, Ekwah, Bellingham but he is very capable of coming on for him them as the game rolls on. He's like a breath of fresh air when he comes on." Photo: FRANK REID 2022