Elliot Embleton is expected to be fit in the final month of the season - but Tony Mowbray is in no hurry to decide whether to involve the midfielder in Sunderland's run-in. Embleton suffered a broken ankle and serious ligament damage after landing awkwardly in the draw at Hull City before Christmas.
He underwent surgery soon afterwards and has since been spotted back at the Academy of Light. In the days following the injury, Mowbray said he was 'hopeful' that the academy product would be available to play again this season and today he said the 23-year-old is on course to return to training in April.
But he will wait until Embleton is back on the grass before making his mind up whether to play him, or give him extra time to recover and start afresh in pre-season. "I'm not sure," said Mowbray, when asked if Embleton would play a part at the back end of this season.
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"He's been back in the building - I saw him at lunch the other day. I think the timescale is around a month before the end of the season, April or something like that, so we'll have to make a call later on.
"It's whether it is worth giving him the confidence going into the summer that he is actually fit and giving him some gametime, or do we give him the extra weeks to get himself fit through the summer. We won't make that decision until he gets to that point where is around on the grass."
Embleton had made 24 appearances in all competitions before suffering the injury at the MKM Stadium, scoring two goals.
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