Tony Mowbray came close to signing Niall Huggins at Blackburn - and is relishing the chance to work with the youngster at Sunderland when he recovers from long-term injury. Huggins joined the Black Cats from Leeds United last summer but his first season on Wearside was a write-off, with the 21-year-old playing only four games before suffering the first of a series of injuries which have now kept him out for a year.
The full-back is still some way away from returning to training and Mowbray is at pains not to put pressure on him by putting a timescale on his recovery, but he has made it clear that when Huggins is available again he will find himself playing under a head coach who rates him highly. "I almost signed Niall Huggins at Blackburn," said Mowbray.
"I like Niall because he is a bundle of energy and drive and passion and emotion. When you manage a working class football club with working class people, they want to see their players give everything and Niall is the epitome of that.
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"I have to be patient and wait for him. How close is he [to a return]?
"I generally answer these questions by saying I'm not a physio. I do speak to the physios but I don't like to put timescales on things and put pressure on young players.
"Some need longer to build confidence after a bad injury, and I'm not here to tell them they have to be ready in two weeks or four weeks. They'll be ready when they're ready, and when Niall has got his boots on and is on the training ground, buzzing around and putting tackles in, running, crossing, and shooting, he will be competing to get back in the team again.
"He's not out there with his boots on joining in, yet. He's still a while away so we shouldn't be expecting him to come back in the next few weeks.
"If the team keeps on doing well, he'll find it tough to get in the team. He's a good player, Niall, and we're looking forward to having everybody fit in the not-too-distant future."
Huggins suffered a stress fracture of the back last September which was originally expected to keep him out for at least three months, although a setback meant that that absence was extended. But from there he went on to pick up a heel problem which then-boss Alex Neil described in March as 'bizarre', and that is the injury which is currently keeping him on the sidelines.
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