Several Sunderland stars to be assessed before Newcastle game

Regis Le Bris says several Sunderland stars will be assessed ahead of the derby against Newcastle on Sunday.

Dan Ballard, Enzo Le Fee, Nordi Mukiele and Robin Roefs will all be late decisions ahead of the game due to their injury concerns.

But in a boost for Sunderland, defender Reinildo is back available.

Jocelin Ta Bi, Nilson Angulo, Bertrand Traore and Romaine Mundle are out for the longer term, however.

“We know already that Jocelin, Nilson, Bertrand and Romaine will be sidelined, all out for this game,” the Sunderland boss said.

“For the others, we will have a late assessment. They are working hard behind the scenes to get ready for this fixture, it’s really important for us.

“But it might be a pure medical decision. We won’t take unnecessary risks because we still have seven games after this one and the international break to manage the last part of their rehab if necessary.”