Sunderland AFC: Regis Le Bris drops update on Romaine Mundle, Dan Ballard and Anthony Patterson | OneFootball

The Black Cats are having to deal with a lot of availability issues.

It's too early to call whether Alan Browne and Romaine Mundle will be fit for Sunderland's first game after the international break, versus Millwall, according to Regis Le Bris, but there is hope regarding the availability of Anthony Patterson, Aji Alese and Dan Ballard.

The seven-day stretch between the Saturday just gone and the one before that, which was composed of three draws for the Black Cats, was quite a frustrating one.

The points that they dropped have seen their lead at the top of the league table go from five points to none.

As well as that, Sunderland have picked up a number of suspensions and injuries.

Most recently, against the Sky Blues, Browne and Mundle were both hurt in quick succession, plus Patrick Roberts and Trai Hume picked up their fifth yellow cards of the season, which means that they will be suspended for the Millwall match after the international break.

These woes add to an already long list of troubles ahead of Regis Le Bris, who, looking ahead to after the current international break, has admitted to uncertainty around the shape of his squad.

Regis Le Bris' Sunderland squad uncertainty

The French head coach said after the stalemate against the Sky Blues that he didn't know the extent of the injuries suffered by the winger and the midfielder, or whether they would be fit enough to feature against Millwall.

On top of Roberts and Hume's suspensions, Jobe Bellingham will also remain absent as he serves the final game of his three-game suspension that he got against QPR.

Patterson will be ready to go after the two-week break, according to Le Bris. There is also hope that Alese, who has been out since the end of August with an ankle injury, will be able to feature, to some extent, against the Lions, plus the minutes that Ballard should get for Northern Ireland should boost his match fitness ahead of a tough run for Sunderland.

Some of the summer signings that haven't featured much because of fitness issues, like Ian Poveda, Salis Abdul Samed and Ahmed Abdullahi, aren't expected to make any quick comebacks.

said Le Bris on the Black Cats' latest injury issues, via the Sunderland Echo.

"I think that Aji will probably be fit at the end of this international break, and of course if Dan Ballard gets some minutes with the international team then that should be good for us. Anthony [should be back], we will have to wait with Salis and Ahmed.

"I think with Ian we might have to wait a little bit longer.

"He had a muscle injury, it wasn't a re-injury but he struggled and I think we have to build some strong foundations with him, so that he can be ready for us to make an impact in the second half of the season."

Sunderland can use the international break as a reset opportunity

Not all of Sunderland's fitness issues are going to be solved in the next fortnight, but it does allow some extra time for those who are closer, like Alese and Ballard. They will be needed with the run of games that the league leaders have coming up; Millwall (A), West Bromwich Albion (H), Sheffield United (A).

Those who aren't going to be available soon haven't been key contributors for Le Bris anyway, so them being unavailable shouldn't make a world of difference, unless the queue outside the medical room really starts to ramp up.