Alex Neil is keeping his fingers crossed that Dennis Cirkin can play a part in Sunderland's play-off semi-final against Sheffield Wednesday to ease the Black Cats' defensive injury problems. Cirkin was again absent with a calf injury as Sunderland booked their place in the play-offs with a 1-0 win at Morecambe yesterday.
There are no guarantees that Cirkin will be ready to return whenn the Black Cats take on the Owls in the first leg at the Stadium of Light on Friday night, but nor did Neil rule him out. "I would hope so," said Neil when asked if Cirkin could be involved, "but I can't really commit to anything right now - I don't know what the answer is.
"Let's say he has a chance, it's not one of those where we can just say he's out."
