Tony Mowbray has admitted he may have to rest Trai Hume soon.
Speaking to The Northern Echo, the Sunderland boss said he was a bit ‘concerned’ about the defender’s fitness.
Hume joined Sunderland from Northern Irish side Linfield in January 2022 and endured a difficult start to life on Wearside.
However, the ‘amazing’ 21-year-old has been a regular for the Black Cats since forcing his way into the starting line-up, while he has started all 14 of Sunderland’s matches this season.
Hume’s performances certainly haven’t faltered during that period, however Mowbray has admitted his worries about the amount of football he is playing.
Mowbray said: “We’re a bit concerned at the minute about the amount of football he’s played,” said Mowbray of Hume.
“He’s had two or three three-game weeks on the back of two international fixtures with another international break coming up in a couple of weeks.
“At some stage he’ll be getting substituted off and the opportunity for the young centre-backs or the young defenders will be in front of them really. We have to do it, we have to be careful we don’t lose Trai to an injury through overuse.”
Sunderland don’t want to overwork Trai Hume
Trai Hume has been a very important player to Sunderland this season, but it is very understandable that Tony Mowbray is eager to rest him.
We have seen it happen on multiple occasions at Sunderland, where some of our younger players – such as Dan Neil – are overworked and their performances eventually see the full effect of that.
We really can’t afford to see our defenders decline, especially around the busy Christmas period. The absence of Timothee Pembele means there isn’t particularly strong (or experienced) replacements for Hume either.
Fans definitely trust Mowbray though. He knows very well how to handle these younger players and we have faith in him to know when they need a rest.