Fit-again Lynden Gooch is set to travel with the Sunderland squad to Shrewsbury for this weekend's FA Cup tie - but Tony Mowbray says the remainder of the club's injured players will remain on Wearside. Sunderland travel to Shropshire this weekend for their third round tie against the Shrews at the New Meadow, but a series of injuries have left Mowbray with limited room for manoeuvre when it comes to making changes for the cup match.
Gooch suffered a hamstring problem in the Boxing Day win against Blackburn Rovers at the Stadium of Light, and missed last week's win at Wigan and the weekend draw at Blackpool, but he will be back in contention on Saturday. But Danny Batth (calf), Aji Alese (foot), Dennis Cirkin (thigh), Niall Huggins (ankle), Corry Evans (illness), Alex Pritchard (calf), and long-term casualty Elliot Embleton (fractured ankle), will all miss out.
Of those, Evans is expected to be available for the Championship game against Swansea City a week on Saturday, while Batth could also be involved in that game, but the rest are unlikely to be fit. Mowbray said: "Lynden Gooch trained today so he will come with us, which is good news.
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"Danny [Batth], Dennis [Cirkin], Aji [Alese], Niall Huggins, Elliot Embleton, Alex Pritchard, Corry Evans, they all won't be coming. Of those, I think Batth is the closest, and hopefully Corry will be fine against Swansea, but the rest I don't think will make it [against Swansea].
"The numbers are quite low, so I sent the staff off to watch the U21s this afternoon at Eppleton and if there's anyone who did particularly well today, they might find themselves on the bus travelling with us tomorrow."
Costa Rica international winger Jewison Bennette is likely to feature at Shrewsbury, and Sunderland's lack of numbers means Mowbray is also likely to include a number of youngsters in the squad, with 15-year-old Chris Rigg - who was an unused sub at Blackpool last Saturday - one of those expected to travel. In the FA Cup, teams can nominate nine substitutes - of which they can use five - and Mowbray intends to name the full complement, although that may mean including some U21s on the bench.
Mowbray said: "There might be one, two, or three young players who played for the U21s today who will jump on the bus with us to help fill the bench, because the bench is nine rather than seven for the FA Cup. I feel as though we are a bit light on numbers, but I don't like putting a bench out with only six players on it when you are allowed nine - I think it's a great chance to get some young players to come along with the first team and be around it and feel the pressure of playing for the supporters and with the manager shouting at you at half-time.
"It's game experience for them."
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