Ellis Simms could start against Cardiff City tomorrow - with Tony Mowbray weighing up whether to 'gamble' on bringing him back into the Sunderland XI ahead of schedule. The on-loan Everton striker made his comeback last weekend at Luton from the toe injury that had sidelined him since mid-September, and his return at last gave Sunderland a centre-forward to call upon once more.
A 20-minute outing from the bench at Kenilworth Road was followed by a 45-minute appearance as a substitute in the Black Cats' midweek win at Huddersfield, with that in itself a longer run-out than the half-hour Mowbray had planned because he needed a more physical presence up front. But given that Simms came through that unscathed, it has raised the possibility of him potentially starting against Cardiff at the Stadium of Light.
Mowbray had previously said he did not expect Simms to start games until after the forthcoming World Cup break, but he is now reconsidering - and even if Simms does not start tomorrow, there is the chance that he could begin next Friday's game at Birmingham City which is the final match before Sunderland's Championship season pauses for three weeks. "I've yet to have that conversation with him," said Mowbray, when asked if Simms was ready to start.
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"He trained today. I generally sit with them and say 'give me your thoughts', and I'll do that in the morning.
"We are two games away from an international break and it's whether we feel a though we can risk - if that's the right word - a potential start for him. Games start at a much higher intensity, so it is more demanding than coming off the bench.
"It's whether he feels ready, whether we feel it is a gamble worth taking, because we've got a three-week break coming up by the end of which he will definitely have recovered and done the fitness work. I'll discuss it, but I haven't really made a decision over whether to start him as yet.
"There's a chance that he could start, but there's a chance he could be on the bench again because I like the idea of having a strong bench that can either see a game out or change a game. Let's see what team we pick and what potential changes to help change the course of the game go our way."
Simms scored three goals in eight starts before picking up the toe injury in Sunderland's 3-0 win at Reading. He has not scored since his return, but his introduction has influenced both games with Sunderland scoring soon after he came on at Luton to earn a 1-1 draw, and then he helped the Black Cats offer a greater threat at Huddersfield - and provided the assist for the second goal at the John Smith's Stadium.
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