Captain returns as a substitute.

Lee Cattermole made a welcome return to senior duty off the substitutes’ bench last night.

The Sunderland captain, who was injured against QPR in late November, got a 14-minute run-out as a late replacement for Jack Colback.

Unfortunately he couldn’t prevent the Black Cats losing 2-0 to Bolton in the FA Cup with Budweiser.

Cattermole’s return will come as a boost for Martin O’Neill, who further strengthened his midfield with last week’s capture of French U21 international Alfred N’Diaye.

“Lee obviously gave us a bit of drive and determination when he came on,” O’Neill told safc.com.

“He’s been out for a number of weeks and had only had a couple of days’ training.”

Cattermole has made 13 appearances for Sunderland this season and is 14 outings short of a century of games for the club.