Sunderland v Swansea City: Latest team news ft Jack Clarke, Callum Styles | OneFootball

Mike Dodds will oversee his first game back as interim head coach at Sunderland this weekend.

The 37-year-old won two of his three games in the role earlier this campaign prior to Michael Beale’s appointment in December.

But Beale lasted just 63 days before being dismissed from the role, which has seen Dodds step back into the interim position.

He will be in charge of the first team squad for the remainder of the campaign, with 13 games still to go.

The Black Cats face Swansea City, as they look to get their play-off hopes back on track.

But the Swans will also be looking to get back to winning ways, having lost their last two league fixtures.

Sunderland team news

Dan Ballard will be absent for this weekend’s clash with Swansea, with the centre-back serving a suspension.

A 10th yellow card received in the loss to Birmingham City last weekend means he will be out for two games.

There is also a concern that Jack Clarke could be absent for Sunderland this weekend, with Dodds confirming that he is struggling with an ankle issue.

However, there are no concerns over Leo Hjedle and Callum Styles, who should both be in the squad on Saturday.

"Jack rolled his ankle against Birmingham, obviously played 90 minutes and was super relaxed,” said Dodds, via the Sunderland Echo.

“The plan was for him to have a couple of days off and train Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

“That hasn’t happened so I think the game tomorrow is probably going to come too early for him, then we’ll assess where we are on Monday. I don’t think the out for a month, I think that has been a little bit more sensationalised than it is.

"Leo is fine so I don’t know where that has come from.

"Callum has trained fully for the last two weeks and will be in the squad for tomorrow."

Meanwhile, Aji Alese, Patrick Roberts, Corry Evans and Bradley Dack remain unavailable for selection.

Swansea City team news

Swansea welcomed Harry Darling back to the matchday squad last weekend against Ipswich Town.

He came off the bench against the Tractor Boys, and could return to the starting lineup against the Wearside outfit.

However, there are still a number of absences impacting Luke Williams’ squad.

The likes of Josh Key, Bashir Humphreys, Harrison Ashby and Jamal Lowe are all nearing a comeback, but likely won’t be available for selection this weekend.

The Swansea boss provided an update on the quartet, with Azeem Abdulai also making a return to training this week.

"We have players making good progress,” said Williams, via the club’s official website.

“Josh has been out on the grass with the conditioning team so he is not a million miles away, Harrison Ashby was out there too but there’s no fixed date for him.

“Azeem has trained so he could be available, but we need to be careful as we brought him back ahead of schedule last time and now we have a good plan for him.

“He is athletic and versatile so he would be a welcome addition.

“Jamal is doing well, we are communicating with Bournemouth on where he is with his rehab.

“We think he will be back soon.

“This game is too close but after that I think he will be back training fully and then be available to us.”