Mundle and Browne were both injured in the same passage of play, and head coach Régis Le Bris is not yet sure whether they will be able to face Millwall after the international break. Le Bris already has some major selection dilemmas for that game, with Trai Hume, Patrick Roberts, and Jobe Bellingham all serving suspensions.
The Sunderland head coach is hopeful that Anthony Patterson will be back for that game, while Aji Alese may also be able to return to the squad. Dan Ballard will also come into selection, and a chance to build his match sharpness with Northern Ireland over the break could pave the way for him to return to the starting XI.
Le Bris does not expect any of his other injured players to be fully fit by the end of the break, having already identified December as the likely return date for midfielder Salis Abdul Samed. At this stage he is not anticipating Ian Poveda being available for selection at Millwall, with the club likely to focus on building his fitness to try and prevent a repeat of the issues that have so far prevented him from making a league start since his arrival in the summer.
“With Romaine and Alan, it is too early; we will have to assess them early this week and see,” Le Bris said.
“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,” Le Bris added.
“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.”
Jenson Seelt is expected back from his knee injury in January.
