Tony Mowbray sets out recovery roadmap as Sunderland duo edge closer to full fitness
Sunderland defender Aji Alese and summer addititon Eliezer Mayenda could be in first-team contention within a couple of weeks
Aji Alese and summer signing Eliezer Mayenda could be eased back into action after the international break as Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray set out a roadmap for their return. Defender Alese has not featured since suffering a recurrance of a thigh injury when he was rushed back to play as a substitute in the Black Cats’ play-off semi-final second leg defeat at Luton Town in May,
while Spanish striker Mayenda has yet to play for his new club after picking up a hamstring injury in his first training session in July.
Given the length of time they have been out, Mowbray is keen to avoid rushing them back and risking them breaking down – particularly as there is no need to do so with Sunderland currently well-stocked with players able to operate in the roles Alese and Mayenda would normally occupy. “They are both not far away,” said Mowbray, who takes his side to Hillsborough tonight to take on Sheffield Wednesday.
An educated guess would suggest that they will be back after the international break, because that means we are not rushing them, it doesn’t feel like we’re saying ‘come on, we need you for Wednesday night, we need you for this game’. Let them get confident, let them trust their bodies, then we will have to probably put them in an U21 game for a bit and then they will be up and
running again.
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“Their timescales of injury have been quite long, probably longer than they would have thought, and you can’t just get fit and then play the next week. You can get fit and then play 20 minutes for the U21s, and then half a game or 60 minutes for the U21s, and then you can come off the bench for the first team, but by the time all that has happened it runs into another month.
“Hopefully, you have got players doing a job in their positions and there is no rush.”
Sunderland did feel the need to rush Alese back at the end of last season, with the absences of Danny Batth and Dan Ballard leaving them with a severe lack of height and physical presence at Luton when they went to Kenilworth Road defending a 2-1 first leg lead. Alese came on for the final half-hour with Sunderland already trailing 2-0 on the night – and 3-2 in the tie – but the gamble backfired as he ended up back in the treatment room.
