Phil Parkinson has given a fitness and team news update ahead of Saturday’s Sky Bet League One contest with Portsmouth.
The Sunderland boss discussed the latest on players such as Jordan Willis, Tom Flanagan and Elliot Embleton ahead of the match at the Stadium of Light, as well as new incomings Dion Sanderson and Callum McFadzean.
“Callum McFadzean will, like all players, have a fight to get into the team, but he will definitely be making a contribution between now and the end of the season,” Parkinson said.
“Dion Sanderson is nearing full fitness but had missed a bit of training with Wolves, and they marked his card in terms of letting us know he needed some training before we exposed him to playing. We’ve had to be fair to him as well, and make sure he’s ready.
“Chris [Maguire] and Charlie [Wyke] have started and played the last 3 games in attack and done really well. Of course, the other lads will be wondering when they’ll get the chance to play and be on the end of these balls into the box. They have to back themselves to take those chances.”
Parkinson’s defensive options are gradually becoming more generous as the season picks up pace, and the gaffer went into more detail about the progress of Willis and Flanagan, along with a further long-term absentee in Embleton.
“With Jordan initially, a big lump came up on his foot which we were worried about, but he had an x-ray and was cleared. It has settled down a lot, we didn’t need to push him for Tuesday, but he’s a lot closer for this game.
“Tom is fine. We were worried at first and he had to go for an MRI scan, but the specialist was happy for him to continue and he came back sooner than expected off the bench on Tuesday.
“Elliot has trained, and as far as I’m aware he’ll be involved with the Under-23s on Monday, providing hopefully all has gone well.”