Sunderland injury blow with key man ruled out but competition is driving success says boss

Regis Le Bris provides an injury update

Anthony Patterson is poised to miss Sunderland’s Championship game against QPR due to a foot injury. Head coach Regis Le Bris stated the custodian will be sidelined for “five days, maybe a week at most,” thus Simon Moore will fill in for the second time after making his debut in the 2-0 victory over Oxford United.

In a news conference, Le Bris confirmed that forward Eliezer Mayenda is now ready to play, while Dan Ballard remains injured but should return to training.

On Patterson, Le Bris stated, “We must wait. It’s not that serious. However, it is dependent on the amount of agony and discomfort he may experience on the pitch. So he can’t train right now, but I believe it could be five days or one week at most. We don’t know if it happened earlier.

“It’s an odd injury, so it depends on his sentiments; he couldn’t exercise on Thursday morning, for example, but maybe next week. Eliezer is OK and ready to play, but Ballard will train on Friday [today] and is now very close to the group.

This is a new story for Eliezer, and we discussed it together. He did exceptionally well in the first half of the season. We now have Wilson [Isidor] and Alan [who worked exceptionally well for us]. Now Wilson, now Aaron.

We trust Eliezer, and having that quality on the pitch benefits both me and the team.” Competition for places is critical to Sunderland’s success, as Le Bris explained: “I think it’s healthy because everyone can feel that if you’re involved and there’s someone pushing you to play, it’s good for the club and good for them as well.

“Competition is always necessary from both a human and high-level perspective. So we need to identify the appropriate level. If it becomes too much, some players may withdraw and we will lose them, but this is not the situation right now.

“I believe they are doing well, and you can see it in the training sessions. There is a certain sense of irritation when you don’t play and know it’s doable but not the perfect time. And the player on the pitch understands that he must perform at his peak, which benefits the team.

Le Bris is still developing his team’s identity, stating, “It’s a long journey, and we don’t know how this identity will evolve.” Because it depends on our guys.

They can form a link and face opposition. And the season scenario, but the key point is the commitment to improve and maintain this approach on a daily basis.

“Even after our excellent performance last week. A head coach may easily identify several aspects of the game that require improvement. Even though we triumphed versus Oxford, we did not capitalise on our faults and flaws, as every team has them.

“For that game, it was fine. If you continue to engage in such practices, you will undoubtedly face difficulties later on. It’s our primary focus. Obviously, the dynamic is positive, but it is only the beginning of the season, and we all know the Championship is lengthy. That is our main concern right now.”

Read more…

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*