Defender John O’Shea and striker Steven Fletcher are both in contention for Sunderland’s home clash with Chelsea in the Barclays Premier League tomorrow.
O’Shea is the more likely to feature having trained this week following a calf injury while leading scorer Fletcher will be assessed later today.
The Scot was forced off at half-time in last weekend’s defeat by Norwich with an ankle problem and saw a specialist this week.
Captain Lee Cattermole is expected to be out for another two months after damaging knee ligaments.
Provisional squad: Mignolet, Westwood, Bardsley, Kilgallon, O’Shea, Cuellar, Bramble, Rose, Gardner, Colback, McClean, Larsson, Sessegnon, Saha, Fletcher, Campbell, Wickham, McFadden.