Big boost: Neil "hopeful" of huge Sunderland lift that'll have supporters buzzing - opinion

Sunderland could be about to land a huge injury lift over full-back Dennis Cirkin…

Black Cats boss Alex Neil has provided an update on the young defender and has not ruled him out of facing Morecambe in the final match of the regular League One season at the weekend.

He told The Chronicle: “Dennis, we’re hopeful won’t be out for too long and we’ll find out in the next couple of days whether he has a chance or not.”

The supporters will surely be buzzing with this news as having Cirkin back and available would be a big boost to Alex Neil’s team.

Sunderland’s clash with Morecambe is a monumental match at both ends of the League One table and having as many key players fit as possible will help the Black Cats in their bid to land a play-off place. A win for Neil’s side will confirm their spot in the top six but it will not be an easy afternoon for the club as they come up against a team fighting to avoid relegation – with their opponents currently sitting two points above the drop.

This illustrates how big of a game this is for both sides and why fans will be delighted to see Cirkin back in action on Saturday. He has been a crucial member of the squad throughout the campaign in his first season of senior football and has shown that he can be a reliable League One defender.

The full-back has started 31 matches for the club in the division this term and averaged a solid SofaScore rating of 6.77. Cirkin has made 2.9 tackles and interceptions per match and won 59% of his duels, which shows that he has been a fine defender for the Black Cats by regularly winning the ball back and coming out on top in the majority of his individual battles.

He could improve his output in the final third, though, as he has only created 0.7 chances