Niall Huggins hopes his injury woes are finally behind him and that this can be the season he makes his mark at Sunderland. Defender Huggins' first two years on Wearside have been wrecked by a series of injuries, including back and foot problems, which have restricted him to just eight appearances - including only four starts.
But the former Leeds United man was involved from the bench in both legs of Sunderland's play-off semi-final against Luton Town in May and has returned for pre-season fully fit and looking to build up his match sharpness ready to push for a first-team place this term. The 22-year-old has already made a contribution, scoring his side's second goal in the 3-2 friendly win at Gateshead on Saturday despite playing in an unfamiliar central midfield role.
"I'm buzzing - the end of last season was kind of just a bonus, to be honest," Huggins told safc.com after the game. "The plan really was just to finish the season as fit as possible, so to get some minutes especially in front of the home crowd was a really great feeling.
