Elliott Dickman will be forced to shuffle his pack this weekend when Derby County come to town.
Sunderland under-23s welcome the Rams to Eppleton Colliery Welfare on Sunday, kick-off 12pm, in the Premier League 2 – with entry free for season card holders.
Having secured their pathway through to the third round of the Durham County Challenge Cup in the week when they defeated Stockton Town, Dickman has admitted injuries in the first team and the under-18s’ FA Youth Cup involvement this weekend will force him to make changes.
“We are short of numbers at the minute,” he said.
“We would give some of the younger lads a chance normally, but this weekend is a little bit more unique because it is the Youth Cup.
“We want the under-18s to do well in the Youth Cup, so we can’t use some of the usual players like Jack Diamond and Benji Kimpioka.
He continued: “It is important we do well in the Youth Cup and whoever we are left with we will go into the Derby game and give it our best shot.”
