Regis Le Bris gives injury update as ‘struggling’ Sunderland man suffers fresh set-back after Cardiff City win
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris has confirmed the injury of one midfielder following the victory vs Cardiff City.
Sunderland notched a 2-1 win vs Cardiff City at the Stadium of Light this weekend, with Eliezer Mayenda once again repaying the faith of Regis Le Bris by starting the striker.
BBC pundit Gary Bennett was full of praise for Mayenda, and rightly so after scoring in successive weekends, this time in the early minutes against a lowly Cardiff side.
It wasn’t a vintage Black Cats showing, with Cardiff boss Mer Riza believing his side deserved more from the clash, but Mayenda’s remarkable performance and goal got them over the line.
Unfortunately, there were some injury set-backs in the game, including Patrick Roberts, and he has been joined by another player that was vacant in the win on Wearside.
- READ MORE: Regis Le Bris hints at which striker will start for Sunderland vs Preston, Wilson Isidor or Eliezer Mayenda
Sunderland boss gives Patrick Roberts update as he also outlines Salis Abdul Samed injury
Following the game, Sunderland boss Le Bris was quizzed on various injury issues that the squad may have potentially suffered, with many eyes turning towards Roberts, who was replaced by Chris Rigg in just the 24th minute of action.
Per Sunderland Echo, Le Bris said: “We hope it is not too serious, but we will see on Sunday. Patrick [Roberts] is experienced and he felt tight, so we thought the safe thing was to change it. It was more of a precaution than a serious injury.”
Le Bris also gave an additional injury update, this time on rarely-used midfielder Salis Abdul Samed, who wasn’t in the squad against Cardiff City.
“Salis [Abdul Samed] is struggling with his calf so we will have to wait until after the international break to have him back in the team.
“We are disappointed for him and for the squad because we need depth and at the minute, it’s difficult to refresh in the way we have done with Wilson and Eli, for example. Dan and Jobe have to push more and I have to say that they are really impressive, playing every minute without a break and doing very, very well.”
“Alan did very well, he just found it difficult to maintain. You could feel his three months without playing at this level. It’s the same for Romaine and Tommy, they need time to reconnect with the level. But they were good.”
Samed has only notched seven appearances in the 2024/25 Championship campaign, having arrived on Wearside with an injury, but now it looks as though he could be out for up to a month extra.
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Alan Browne return was timed perfectly amid Salis Abdul Samed injury
With Roberts’ potential injury, there could be plenty of issues that arise due to the lack of squad depth in that area. Gary Bennett believes Mayenda could play on the right instead of Roberts, but that decision would ultimately come with shortcomings for Le Bris, who won’t be keen to switch the position of one of the Championship’s most in-form men.
However, when it comes to Samed’s fitness concerns, Sunderland and Le Bris have been blessed by the timely return of Browne in the centre of the park.
The former Preston North End man, as Le Bris said, found it ‘difficult’ in the latter stages, leading to him being replaced by Wilson Isidor, but he is still showing brilliant signs of getting back to his best.
The options in midfield are rather light amid Samed’s injury, but having Rigg, Harrison Jones, and even Milan Aleksic on the bench gives Le Bris plenty of options, especially when opting for a more attacking player than the Ghanaian.
