Head coach Tony Mowbray has been able to welcome some first-team players back into his squad over the summer after several were sidelined at the end of the last campaign. Some players also missed Sunderland’s pre-season US tour as they continue to recover from injury setbacks.

Here are the players who have been sidelined in recent weeks and their situations ahead of Sunderland’s fourth league game of the 2023-24 season against Coventry City away from home this weekend:

1. Patrick Roberts

Sunderland say that they will asses Patrick Roberts after the forward limped out of today’s win against Rotherham United. Roberts came off with a little under 15 minutes remaining to be replaced by Alex Pritchard. “We’ll see how he is tomorrow,” Mowbray said after Rotherham. “What we do know is that the physio department has sent him home, he’s not lying on a bed with a big chunk of ice on him, or going off to hospital in an ambulance.”

2. Chris Rigg

Chris Rigg was forced off after showing symptoms of concussion during Sunderland’s under-21s match against Norwich. Rigg, 16, clashed heads with an opposition player just before half-time and was subsequently substituted at the interval and could miss out against Coventry having been absent for the Rotherham game. Photo: Frank Reid

3. Ross Stewart

Tony Mowbray recently stated that Ross Stewart was back out on the grass at the Academy of Light but is still several weeks away from a return. “He was on the grass today with his boots on, that’s a positive sign,” Mowbray said when asked about Stewart before Preston. “I’m not sure the timescale of a few weeks is right, it will probably be a bit more than a few weeks, six or seven weeks is my inkling before he can potentially get on the pitch.” Photo: Stu Forster

4. Aji Alese

The Sunderland defender underwent surgery over the summer and has missed Sunderland’s pre-season and start to the Championship and isn’t expected to return yet.