Sunderland will face Fulham at Craven Cottage when their Premier League campaign resumes after the current international break.
Both Régis Le Bris and Marco Silva have some key concerns ahead of the game, so here we bring you up to speed with all the latest news from both camps…
The early Sunderland team news ahead of Fulham clash
Sunderland could have three players back in contention for the trip to Fulham.
Omar Alderete is close to rejoining full training after concluding the concussion protocols, with Régis Le Bris hopeful that he will be able to top up his match sharpness during the upcoming international break.
Speaking last Friday, Le Bris said: “It’s not really serious, but the conclusion protocol is really strict and we followed it. So he won’t be available this weekend. Probably he will be able to get some minutes with his national team progressively and get ready for Fulham.
“I think he’s in a good place and to get fit again, it will be necessary to play. So I think it will be nice for him and for us [if he gets some minutes for Paraguay].”
Dennis Cirkin and Romaine Mundle could also be in contention to return after resuming full training over the last week. Cirkin made his comeback in the U21s 4-2 win over Ipswich on Friday night.
Speaking on Friday, Le Bris said: “Romaine is close to playing as well, so we wanted to delay a bit Romaine’s return because of his injury. A hamstring injury is a little bit different so we wanted consistency across two or three weeks where he could be in full training, and he’s in a good place now. So he could be close for the Fulham game.”
Leo Hjelde is back in training after undergoing surgery on both achilles in the summer, though Aji Alese is still recovering from injury. Habib Diarra is expected back in early December and is hoping to be available to face Newcastle United before the Africa Cup of Nations begins a week later.
Le Bris has one key concern to closely monitor in the next block of Premier League fixtures, with Noah Sadiki and Granit Xhaka now just one yellow card away from a suspension.
The early Fulham team news
Fulham have been handed a major injury concern after striker Rodrigo Muniz appeared to aggravate a hamstring issue that he had not long returned from on Saturday. Muniz was introduced as a second-half substitute in the 2-0 defeat to Everton, but was forced off shortly after.
The severity of the injury is not yet known but boss Marco Silva admitted afterwards that he was concerned.
“Bad news for us when a player comes in that we have to take off after 10/15 minutes, it’s not a good sign,” he said.
“It’s been difficult in that position, Raúl Jimenez, as you know, is not at his best at the moment [recovering from injury] it’s not easy for him to reach these levels of intensity. I don’t remember one full training session from him in the last 15 days.And, of course, after Rodrigo came on, he had a good impact in the game and then he felt something again in the same leg, same area of the hamstring. It looks like not good news for us. It was 50/50, it was precaution.”
Fulham could also be without left back Antonee Robinson for Sunderland’s visit. Robinson is not involved with the USA squad over the international break, with Silva confirming ahead of the Everton game that he was not yet back in full training.
‘I see him every single day on the pitch, but unfortunately for us, not fully fit to be involved,” Silva said.
“He is there in the beginning of the session, but doing individual work. He is getting better, but I cannot give a timescale right now – let’s see what happens after the international break.
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