Lee Johnson has given an update on the fitness outlook of his squad, ahead of Saturday’s contest at the Stadium of Light against Shrewsbury Town.
Sunderland suffered a setback during Tuesday night’s defeat to Plymouth Argyle with Jordan Willis’ knee flaring up in the first half, forcing him off – but the centre-half trained with no problems on Friday, it has been confirmed.
“Jordan trained [on Friday], I think he will be fine for the game,” the Head Coach said.
“It’s a patella tendonitis, and anybody who has had that will know that it reacts differently every day.
“He was fine in training. He might wake up, though, and have 8/10 pain or 1/10 pain. As I’ve said before, it’s one to manage.”
Johnson revealed after last weekend’s win at AFC Wimbledon that Lynden Gooch returned the squad’s sole positive Covid-19 test, and whilst the American will be unavailable for the Shrewsbury test, he can return to training in the week.
“Lynden is still in self-isolation, which ends on the day of the Ipswich game.
“He’s asymptomatic, and he’s keeping himself fit – it’s just a shame at the moment that it can only be in his garden. It’s frustrating for us and for him, but we’ve had no more positive tests since.”
Finally, Luke O’Nien has been named in Johnson’s last two matchday squads as an unused substitute, and the Head Coach spoke of the recent discussions he has had with the 26-year-old regarding his return to action.
“I’ve had a long chat with Luke – he’s fit, but an issue is that with his shoulder, he can’t take throw-ins, which pretty much rules him out of playing full-back at the moment.
“Other than that, it’s just a couple of the usual niggles and knocks, but generally we’re in good health.”
