Sunderland are set to be without Jenson Seelt and Eliezer Mayenda against Ipswich Town.
The Black Cats will open the Championship campaign with a home clash against Town and the Sunderland Echo have reported that they could be without eight senior players.
Sunderland enjoyed an extremely positive end to the previous season, despite enduring a long list of injuries that will see a number of players’ problems continue past this weekend.
Meanwhile, they also face a number of fresh injuries including Seelt and Mayenda.
Seelt moved to Wearside from PSV last month and made his debut for the club in the pre-season win over North Carolina, however the defender was forced off after suffering a recurrence of an ankle issue.
Tony Mowbray has revealed Seelt’s injury isn’t a serious one, however he is likely to sit out of tomorrow’s tie following his absence from the trip to Hartlepool.
It took only a day for Mayenda to be sidelined after he completed his switch from Sochaux last week. The striker is set to be in the treatment room for a couple of months, with the club now looking to bring in another attacker to replace him.
Sunderland also remain without long-term absentees in Corry Evans, Ross Stewart, Elliot Embleton and Aji Alese, while Jay Matete is out for up to 10 weeks after picking up an injury in pre-season. Isaac Lihadji is likely to be left out of the matchday squad as he nears a move to Qatar.
Sunderland’s starting XI vs Ipswich Town
Sunderland are likely to start with one of their most popular starting line-ups from last season, with Dan Ballard ready to slot straight back into defence after overcoming an injury.
Jobe Bellingham could be handed his first competitive start with Evans, Matete and Embleton all out, while Semedo is likely to take the number nine role as he is the only striker available to Mowbray. The teenager has impressed so far in pre-season so there are few doubts about his capability heading into Sunday.
Predicted starting XI: Patterson; Hume, Ballard, Batth, Cirkin; Ekwah, Neil, Bellingham; Roberts, Clarke, Semedo