With a spate of injuries halting Sunderland’s progress before Saturday’s Championship clash with Swansea City, Regis Le Bris could have done without this.
He could have done without a virus sweeping through the camp. Even club captain Luke O’Nien – as indefatigable as they come – was forced to sit out the 1-1 midweek draw with Bristol City at the Stadium of Light.
And, as Patrick Roberts saved Sunderland in injury time, the winger’s late intervention appeared all the more heroic when he opened up on the illness which left his involvement against Liam Manning’s Robins in doubt.
When Sunderland travelled to South Wales looking for only a second win in eight league games, meanwhile, it was Dan Neil’s turn to feel the effects.
Not that anyone at the Swansea.com Stadium would have figured out that the all-action midfielder was feeling a little under the whether.
Neil’s stunning equaliser drew Sunderland level for the first time on the 74th minute mark, mere moments before Jobe Bellingham fired home to complete a comeback which might yet be the spark their ailing promotion campaign needed.
Dan Neil battles through illness to drag Sunderland past Swansea City
Regis Le Bris admitted that Dan Neil was finding it hard adapting to a deeper role back in October. The South Shields-born 23-year-old struggled initially to cope with the more defensive side of the game, whether it be tracking runners or breaking up play.
This, however, was arguably Neil’s best Sunderland performance in months. A performance capped by a wondrous 25-yard strike.
His long-awaited first of the season, at the 20th time of asking as well.
And while some may have questioned if Neil is the right man to wear the armband on the occasions when O’Nien is out of the starting XI – an extremely heavy burden for a young, homegrown player to carry on his shoulders – this was a real, bonafide ‘captain’s performance’.
Especially considering that many players in his position, feeling like he did heading down south, may have felt the need to pull out of the squad entirely.
“I was coughing. I had blocked nose, blocked ears. I’m starting to feel better,” Roberts said after that Bristol City draw, his comments providing some insight into the conditions Neil battled through four day later.
“You go out in the fresh air and it kicks in again.”
Regis Le Bris hails Sunderland fightback as key players return
O’Nien made his return to the side in Swansea, meanwhile.
Sunderland’s Mr Versatile replaced Dennis Cirkin – he himself only recently back from surgery – while stepping into the left-back role with 20 minutes of normal time remaining.
“I think we deserved to win, even if we started in the worst way possible,” Le Bris beamed at full-time. “I was confident because I thought we had good qualities a good gameplan. It was a question of character and belief in our qualities, in our way of playing.
“[The way we fought back] was a good sign because, the last five, six, seven games, sometimes we were dominant but we didn’t score or win.
“Today, we showed this character is something we have in our team, and its important for the future.”