Alex Pritchard is expected to be back in the squad tomorrow as Sunderland go into the final week of their League One campaign with a place in the play-offs at stake. The Black Cats take on Cambridge United at the Stadium of Light tomorrow, with another home game against promotion-chasing Rotherham on Tuesday, followed by a last-day trip to relegation-threatened Morecambe.
But Alex Neil expects to have key man Pritchard available again, having sat out the last three games with a calf problem. "Alex is a lot closer than he had been," said Neil.
"He just missed out on the last game [at Plymouth on Monday], and I'd imagine he will feature tomorrow. We've also got a few bumps and bruises that we need to assess between now and tomorrow."
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Midfielder Pritchard's creativity has been a major factor in Sunderland's league season, with the 28-year-old having contributed seven assists - along with Dan Neil, the joint-highest total in the squad - as well as four goals, and having him available for three crucial games in which the Black Cats are looking to secure a play-off spot is a major boost. Sunderland have been without Callum Doyle, Leon Dajaku, and Thorben Hoffmann due to illness recently, but Doyle and Hoffmann have now recovered although Dajaku is still sidelined.
Neil said: "Leon is still ill, so he won't be available. Thorben is better, he has improved.
"Callum is also better, albeit he has not had a massive amount of training days so that is the only concern for him. His absence through illness has also been longer than Thorben's, so that's something we need to cast an eye over."
Aiden McGeady has also resumed training this week, but he is still a long way away from full fitness having been out of action since November due to a knee ligament issue. He will not figure in the final games of the regular season and whether he could be fit enough to play any part in the play-off games in May - should Sunderland qualify - is doubtful.
"Aiden trained with us yesterday, which was a big step forward," said Neil. "He hasn't been with the group for quite a while now, but yesterday was his first training session.
"Obviously, that's only the beginning [for him] but he was on the grass with us yesterday and he looked fine."
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