James Hunter has dropped a Sunderland claim on Dennis Cirkin as some early Team News has now emerged before they play Morecambe in League One today.
This is no doubt a big game for the Stadium of Light faithful, as they aim to cement a play-off place to try and get back up to the Championship.
Morecambe currently sit in 19th place, and so the Black Cats should really fancy their chances, with play-off chasing rivals Plymouth Argyle seemingly facing a much tougher fixture against MK Dons.
Taking to Twitter, The Chronicle journalist Hunter has shared an update from Alex Neil on Cirkin’s recovery from injury, claiming that he is ‘pain-free’ and ‘not far away’ from a return.
Despite this, Hunter thinks that he is still a ‘doubt’ for the match, but could return for the play-offs should they qualify:
“Alex Neil says Dennis Cirkin is ‘pain-free’ and ‘not far away’ from a return. Doubt he’ll be involved tomorrow, but could be back for the play-offs – if #safc qualify.”
Even though it sounds like Cirkin could come back for potential play-off fixtures, not being able to play him against Morecambe would certainly be a blow.
The Englishman has been a mainstay in the team this term, making 34 appearances in the league in total, and has ranked highly among his teammates in terms of average tackles, interceptions, clearances and blocks per match (WhoScored).
Nonetheless, the Black Cats will need to stay defensively strong away from home, and having Cirkin in the side would certainly help.
In other news, find out who is now ‘expected’ to be back on Wearside soon here!
Source
Read more on msn.com
msn.com