Teenager Callum Doyle has returned to training refreshed this week after being given time off to recharge his batteries. Sunderland's on-loan Manchester City defender is in his first season playing senior football and had started 32 out of 34 league games prior to last weekend's trip to Wigan, with the 18-year-old looking visibly fatigued in recent weeks and his form suffering as a result.
But Black Cats boss Alex Neil gave Doyle a few days off last week and rested him against the Latics, with Arbenit Xhemajli drafted into the side for the 3-0 win at the DW Stadium. Doyle has been back at the Academy of Light this week and Neil says the youngster has benefited from the break.
"Callum needed the break," he said. "He needed a mental break, as much as anything.
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"I told him to go home, disappear, go spend some time with your family, because we've asked a lot of him. And in terms of spirits, he has certainly come back in a much better place compared to where he was before he left.
"Kids like that need it [a break]. We have to remember that he is only 18, and there's been a hell of a lot of pressure and expectation put on him."
With Doyle back in the building, Neil must decide whether to bring him straight back into the side at Charlton Athletic tomorrow or stick with Xhemajli, who impressed against Wigan despite the fact that it was his English league debut and only his second first-team outing in any competition following his year-long lay-off following a serious knee ligament injury. With so few minutes under his belt, it was no surprise to see Xhemajli cramping up late in the game but he has had a full week to recover and it would be no surprise to see the Kosovo international keep his place in the side at The Valley.
Neil said of Xhemajli's fitness: "It's not so much a concern from Saturday to Saturday, when we have a full week between matches. I think if we were talking Saturday-Tuesday, after being out for such a long period, we might be having a different conversation.
"He's been fine, he understands that he got an opportunity in the last game and the last thing that he wants to do is to give that place away willingly." After tomorrow's trip to London, Sunderland are back in action on Tuesday night when Fleetwood Town visit Wearside.
And, given what Neil has said about Xhemajli's ability to play two games in three days having had so little match practice, the chances are that he will start one match and Doyle the other - although the head coach insists that for now he is not looking any further ahead than tomorrow's game. "I'm literally prepping for this game, and then we'll see the lie of the land after tomorrow and I can start making preparations for the next one," he said.
"I don't want to try get too smart and plan formations and personnel for games coming up because the simple fact is, for us, the most important game is the next one. We're not at the stage at the moment where we can start planning three or four games ahead because we are in a comfortable position.
"We need to plan on getting the next three points, and hopefully we can work ourselves into a comfortable position so then I can't start to plan ahead - but we're certainly not there just now. The important thing for us at the moment is that we don't look too far ahead."
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