Alex Neil confirms Sunderland’s team news ahead of Wycombe Wanderers clash | OneFootball

Sunderland boss Alex Neil has confirmed Sunderland’s team news ahead of the club’s play-off final clash this weekend.

The Black Cats face Wycombe Wanderers in Wembley Stadium, with the winner earning promotion to the Championship.

Neil has confirmed that his side have no new injury concerns in the side ahead of the biggest game of their season.

The 40-year old also revealed that Carl Winchester has been able to return to training in time to potentially make Saturday’s crunch match.

The midfielder has been sidelined since coming off injured in a game against Cambridge United in April, which Sunderland won 5-1.

There were fears that the 29-year-old would not recover in time to compete in the play-offs, but it has now been confirmed that he has been involved in training this week.

“We have a pretty clean bill of health. Players like Carl Winchester, who we thought might not be involved, have been out training,” said Neil, via James Hunt on Twitter.

Quiz: 24 facts every Sunderland supporter should know about their club – Can you score full marks?

1 of 24

When were they founded?

1877 1878 1879 1880

Winchester has been involved in 40 League One games this season, starting 39 times for the Stadium of Light club.

He has been an important player for the team as they achieved a 5th place finish in the table.

A semi-final victory over Sheffield Wednesday earned the team’s place in the final, with a late Patrick Roberts goal sealing a 2-1 aggregate win over the Owls.

Gareth Ainsworth’s side will be looking to bounce back straight into the second division having been relegated last season.

Wanderers got through MK Dons to reach this stage of the promotion shootout.

Kick off for Saturday’s huge game is at 3pm.

The Verdict

This is an ideal scenario for Sunderland and sets the team up nicely to be prepared for such a big match.

Winchester returning is a big boost to the side as he has been a big loss to the team since suffering injury.

To have a full clean bill of health is such an important factor for the team and shows the great job the medical and physio department have done to maintain the team’s overall fitness.

That means the focus will now turn to showing up on the day with a season-defining performance, as that is what it will take to earn promotion to the Championship.