Sunderland already have a few injuries piling up.
Since their return to the Championship in 2022, Sunderland have been somewhat plagued by injuries.
During their years under Tony Mowbray, the Black Cats suffered injury set-back after injury set-back.
Often times, players were playing out of position, though the current injury list is quite small compared to recent times.
Defenders Jenson Seelt and Niall Huggins are the longer-term absentees for the Black Cats.
Meanwhile, Sunderland’s deadline day signings are all either arriving at fitness or working their way towards it.
Speaking to the press on Thursday afternoon, Regis Le Bris revealed that Chris Mepham and Milan Aleksic are available for selection.
But Ahmed Abdullahi is out for up to 12 weeks following groin surgery.
Le Bris said: “For Ahmed, he will have surgery and he may have 10 or 12 weeks off the pitch.
“We were aware of the problem [before he signed], but we needed an expert to understand exactly what the problem was.
“He had this pain for a long time and now because the diagnosis is clear, it will be solved and he will be sorted after the surgery.”
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Sunderland must avoid Timothee Pembele repeat with Ahmed Abdullahi
Arriving at a new club with an injury is never ideal, and it may also raise question marks about the timing of the signing.
Though Kristjaan Speakman and Le Bris clearly have faith that the player will eventually come good for the club.
But Abdullahi’s current situation sounds a lot like Timothee Pembele last summer; he arrived with an injury and has since left on loan following a tough maiden season.
And Pembele has hit out at the club, saying in an interview in France: “Humanly and sportingly, I am coming out of a difficult season.
“I arrived very late, and I never managed to catch up. The coach never trusted me.
“And the arrival this summer of Régis Le Bris has not changed anything in my situation. So, I preferred to go on loan.”
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Regis Le Bris can be the difference for Ahmed Abdullahi at Sunderland
Sunderland will certainly hope that Abdullahi doesn’t endure a similarly difficult season with Pembele, and that he doesn’t show the same kind of angst towards the club.
But now with Le Bris at the helm, things certainly seem different; there’s a newfound sense of stability at the club, and a sense that the players of both new and old will be given their fair chance to impress the new boss.
So for Abdullahi, whilst he’ll have to wait to to get up to speed, like Pembele, the stability in the dugout should make his maiden season at the Stadium of Light a lot smoother, despite this injury set-back.
Sunderland’s next fixture is against Plymouth Argyle this weekend.