Sunderland are set to welcome Chris Rigg back to the match-day squad next week.
That’s according to The Northern Echo, who has reported that this weekend’s match against Plymouth Argyle will come too soon for the midfielder.
After a debut 2022/23 campaign, Chris Rigg has picked up a few more cameo appearances this time round. The youngster has featured six times in the Championship and netted his first goal in the 5-0 hammering of Southampton.
It was confirmed that the 16-year-old would miss around a month of club action at the start of November, when he was included in the England U-17 squad for the World Cup in Indonesia.
Rigg missed out on matches against Swansea City and Birmingham City as he captained the Young Lions in group stage victories over New Caledonia U17 and Iran U17, before falling to defeat to Brazil.
England still progressed through to the Round of 16, but were dealt a shock blow when they were knocked out of the competition by Uzbekistan.
The Young Lions’ early exit means that Rigg will return to Wearside over a week before the big finale, though his long journey back from Asia will keep him out of action against Plymouth.
Rigg, who provided a lovely assist for England’s only goal of the game, could now be set to make his Sunderland comeback against Huddersfield next week.
The Black Cats will host the Yorkshire outfit on Wednesday night, while Rigg will likely take his usual spot on the bench.
Chris Rigg could return to Sunderland a better player
Chris Rigg’s premature exit from the U17 World Cup will have left him devastated, but the whole experience of captaining his country in an international tournament will have been a real life-changing time for him.
The midfielder will have learnt plenty of lessons during his time in Indonesia and Sunderland can surely only benefit from that. He could well return to the Stadium of Light as a better, and much more mature, footballer.
Chris Rigg’s position at the club hasn’t particularly changed, with it still unlikely that he will force his way in ahead of Pierre Ekwah, Dan Neil or Jobe Bellingham. However, a busy Christmas period could still offer him more time on the pitch.
The teenager needs to take this opportunity with two hands and impress, because we all know exactly what he is going to be capable of if he stays at Sunderland in the future.