Regis Le Bris Issues Major Sunderland Injury Update On Ballard, Brobbey and Diarra

Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris has offered an imperative injury update on Black Cats trio Dan Ballard, Brian Brobbey and Habib Diarra ahead of the visit of Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon.

The international break saw both Ballard and Brobbey suffer hamstring injuries for Northern Ireland and the Netherlands against Georgia and Germany, respectively, with the bruising central defender's injury seeming to be the more severe issue.

For Diarra, his injury came weeks before the break in Sunderland's 1-0 win over Fulham, just minutes after he made a stellar substitute cameo to provide the assist for Wilson Isidor's winning goal.

Now, ahead of this weekend's Stadium of Light clash against Fabian Hurzeler's high-flying Seagulls side, Le Bris has confirmed when each of the Sunderland trio will be back from the sidelines during the post-international break run of fixtures.

Unfortunately for Le Bris, the Sunderland boss confirmed in his pre-Brighton press conference on Thursday afternoon that he will be without centre-back Ballard for this weekend's fixture.

Le Bris said on Ballard: “For Ballard, it is a medium-term injury, probably a few weeks.

"It’s a shame because he was in a very good place.”

The former Arsenal defender had been in fantastic form in the opening stages of the season, with Ballard topping the Premier League for defensive duels won before the break, but Sunderland are well-stocked in central defence in his absence, with Le Bris having the likes of Nordi Mukiele, Kevin Danso and Omar Alderete to call upon.

In regards to Brobbey and Diarra, Le Bris confirmed that the duo are on the same injury schedule, and that they both will be available for selection soon.

Le Bris added that the Dutch striker "will be available soon", and that Senegalese midfielder Diarra "is really close and in a good place; in one week, he will be fully available."

He added: "It’s going to be short-term for Brian. We were a bit worried, but after the game, Brian wasn’t worried.

“Thankfully it’s not serious, but we won’t take risks.”

Additionally, Sunderland supporters no longer have to fear the potential of a ban for captain Granit Xhaka following his false COVID-19 vaccine certificate incident.

Xhaka confirmed in a statement on social media that he has been given a suspended fine by the Swiss authorities after holding talks during the international break, meaning the Sunderland skipper will face no further action on the dramatic matter.

Considering that Brighton sit third in the Premier League table heading into their trip to the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon, with ten points from the first 15 available, Le Bris' Sunderland side will have to be at their best to take anything from Hurzeler's in-form team.

On the test of Brighton, Le Bris offered praise for the young Seagulls manager and his squad for their exploits so far this season, noting that it will be a "challenge" for the Black Cats on Saturday.

Le Bris added: "They have had a good start to the season with a young, dynamic squad. It will be a challenge, but we know our strengths."

The Brighton visit begins a run of seven fixtures in three weeks for Sunderland, and Le Bris' side will be desperate to begin that run with a momentum-inducing result over the Seagulls on Saturday.