Regis Le Bris drops Sunderland AFC update on 4 key players ahead of Bristol City | OneFootball

More availability issues face the Black Cats ahead of their midweek contest.

Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris has revealed that Luke O'Nien is a doubt to play against Bristol City on Tuesday evening, plus updates on the fitness of Dennis Cirkin, Wilson Isidor and Patrick Roberts.

Tommy Watson's two goals against Stoke City on Saturday got Sunderland back to winning ways after weeks without that feeling. They have a chance to string a couple of victories together in midweek when they host Liam Manning's Robins. Another three points would make sure that they at least kept pace with those ahead of them.

Injuries and suspensions have plagued Sunderland over the last month or so - that's why they have had to turn to the likes of Watson to help out.

The winter months have posed a new challenge for the club to deal with, one that has already started to affect the squad.

Regis Le Bris drops fitness update on Sunderland quartet

Le Bris could not guarantee that O'Nien would be available to face City at home. The defender played the full 90 against Stoke at the weekend despite being hampered by illness. The boss said that he is hopeful of his chances of playing.

Patrick Roberts was also carrying some form of bug during the game, but to a milder extent than the one O'Nien has.

"I don’t know for Luke right now," Le Bris said, via the Sunderland Echo. "But he should be okay for tomorrow. For the others, they are available."

On the injury front, Sunderland had another slight scare when Wilson Isidor left the pitch on Saturday with an apparent leg issue.

The French forward has been a bit dormant in front of goal as of late. He had opportunities to score in the weekend's contest. He had one ruled out for being offside, plus a couple of other good chances, but he failed to find the back of the net before being replaced by Leo Hjelde with just a few minutes left to play.

He will be ready to go against the Robins, though. Le Bris explained that it was just a case of cramp that was causing the issue for Isidor.

Sunderland got a boost when Dennis Cirkin finally returned to action off the bench on Saturday. The broken wrist that he suffered kept him out of the squad for many weeks, but he is now working his way back into things. However, the head coach insisted that there is still work to be done with Cirkin.

"He needs time to rebuild his foundations. So it depends on the profile of the player. But Denis is massive, he's explosive. So he needs a little bit more time. But when he will be ready, he will be very useful for the team because he's a good player."

Sunderland should get stronger from January onwards

The new year should give the Black Cats the chance to bolster their playing options on two fronts. Firstly, the transfer market. They will be able to bring in new recruits and send those who aren't wanted away from the Stadium of Light, whether it be permanently or temporarily.

They are also expected to get some more players back from injury in the first month of the new year, including Alan Browne, Niall Huggins and Romaine Mundle.

This should immediately give the team a boost in what could be a very pivotal four weeks for the club's destiny this season.