Dan Ballard is set to sit out Sunderland's last-day trip to Preston - but Tony Mowbray says the defender could be in contention if the Black Cats reach the play-offs. Sunderland round off their Championship campaign on Monday with a trip to Deepdale knowing they must win and hope that at least one other result goes their way in order to secure a top six spot.
Their task is made that much harder given that they will go to Lancashire facing a third successive game with no fit centre-backs, with Danny Batth and Aji Alese ruled out until next season with knee and thigh injuries respectively, while Ballard has not played since suffering a hamstring problem while away on international duty with Northern Ireland at the end of March. Mowbray says Ballard is highly unlikely to be fit to play at Preston, however if Sunderland do end up in the play-offs there is a possibility he will be ready the following weekend when the play-off semi-finals first leg ties take place on May 13 and 14.
Asked whether Ballard could be involved, Mowbray said: "Who knows? I think Preston is going to come too soon for him.
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"I think if we finish in the top six, there is a chance he will take part in the games that follow that. But I don't think you gamble with a footballer who is not 100 percent in his mind able to play.
"We just have to make the best of what we've got and find a way."
Despite their lack of height and physicality, Sunderland nullified West Brom's threat from set-pieces to earn a 2-1 win at The Hawthorns the weekend before last. But they were twice caught out from corners by Watford on Saturday when Christian Kabasele and Ryan Porteous scored headed goals, although the Black Cats came back to score twice in the final 20 minutes and claim a 2-2 draw at the Stadium of Light.
"Without over-highlighting it, that was a real issue for us," said Mowbray, following the Watford game. "We did amazingly well at West Brom to keep them out [from set-pieces], because I said at the end there they seemed to be bringing on the Harlem Globetrotters at the end - everyone that came on was 6ft 5in - yet we still managed to see that out.
"Today we didn't quite deal with Watford's set-plays. We know it's an Achilles heel without Ballard and without Batth and Alese and [striker] Ross Stewart - there's four players that would definitely help that scenario, but they are not available.
"It's difficult when they've got big, aggressive, guys who make a living by heading balls. We worked really hard on set-plays last week [ahead of the Watford game] knowing that Keinan Davis was probably going to play at 6ft 4in, and Kabasele and Porteous, and they attack the ball really well, yet we got undone by two first contacts from corners.
"We'll keep working on it but I don't think Ballard is ready [for the Preston game]."
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